Black And White Wishes
by cheesetaco
Summary: James loves Lily. But does Lily love James? Maybe.But when she realizes she does,in fact,love him,disaster strikes in the form of a misunderstanding. The two soulmates have a chaotic life ahead of them, and one things for sure:they can't do it alone.
1. Love Circle?

_The morning of September 1__st__ dawned bright and sunny. Lily couldn't help but be happy, lying in bed allowing thoughts of her friends to fill her mind as the sun escaped in through a gap in her curtains. She'd be going back to Hogwarts today. Back to her friends. Back Home. _

_Oh, how she missed it there!! Her fellow Gryffindor girls….her best friend, Melody, and her good friends Becca and Amberly. They were never without each other. Except this summer, when Melody went to Australia and Becca and Amberly took off to the states, leaving Lily all alone with her jealous, jerk of a sister, Petunia, and her laid back dad. But even more than her friends, she missed James Potter. This confused her a great deal. She felt so guilty, as well. Why should she miss JAMES? He never did anything but annoy the crap out of her….She had been facing this problem all of 6__th__ year and the summer. A battle between her mind-which could only think of all the horrible and annoying things James had ever done to her and her friends, and her heart-which dwelled on the sweet acts James had gone out of his way to perform for her. And how adorable he was…..hazel eyes…..black hair……long, lean, muscles….. Shaking James from her thoughts, her mind sternly telling her heart that he was a prat, a git, just plain awful. Her heart didn't listen. But Lily shoved the thoughts away in favor of thoughts of her friends and years past…_

_Now, while Lily was tall, slender, and had lustrous red hair that cascaded to her lower back, Melody was pure-blood, and had black, pin-straight hair. It complimented her tan skin and almond-shaped eyes, which were a deep, chocolate brown. She was very smart, Lily often wondered why she hadn't been put in Ravenclaw. She was down to earth, and always honest, but totally sweet at the same time. _

_Becca on the other hand was super stubborn and very athletic. She was a muggle-born, and loved soccer, and of course, after she discovered her powers, quidditch. There was no mistake she was a Gryffindor! She had a light brown color hair and kept it cropped slightly longer than a boys, and it was always spiked in a million different directions. Her eyes were very plain-colored, a kind of washed out brown , although no one would ever say so, for they were always sparkling! _

_Amberly was a half-blood, and as pale as snow, and her friends often teased her about it. She just couldn't tan!! The sun was her enemy if she hadn't slathered on half a tube of SPF 15 at least! Her hair was gorgeous, a honey blond, and was always curly. Her eyes were a vivid cerulean blue. _

_But these weren't the only Gryffindor girls in their year. There was also Winter, a pureblood. Winter was….complicated. She had white blond straight shoulder-length hair, and blue-gray stormy eyes. Behind those eyes, secrets were hidden. The girls always knew she never was completely truthful, but when in 4__th__ year she suddenly turned on them and started dating Lucius Malfoy and Kelsie Illescas and Anisa Brooker became her new friends, they were shocked, and hurt. They were Slytherins. It still pained Lily greatly to know that her friend was there, but completely lost. How a bubbly Gryffindor girl could suddenly become as snooty and sickening as the worst of the Slytherins, she didn't know. _

_Thinking of her friends present and past, Lily glanced at the clock and realized it was 10:15!! She flew out of bed, startling her coal black Greater Sooty Owl Zuri (who had been a gift when she became prefect in 5__th__ year). She quickly took a shower, magically dried her hair, and set to work. She had to look fabulous, after all, she was Head Girl! As it was chilly outside, Lily donned her favorite ivy green sweater and jeans, pairing it with some black flats. Scrutinizing herself in the mirror, She added a simple pair of silver hoops, and her signature necklace, a white silver lined lily flower, with a dazzling emerald at the center. It had been a gift from her mother, the Christmas before her departure to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. She rarely went without it, it made her feel closer to her mother, who had died of breast cancer, in Lily's third year. There were limits to magic, and cancer just didn't have a remedy, magical or otherwise. But that was exactly why Lily was studying to become a healer. She didn't want other 13 year olds to lose their moms. It just wasn't fair. _

_Sighing, she glanced at the picture of her mom that was tucked into the corner of the mirror on her vanity. _

"_Mum, I miss you. I'm going into my 7__th__ year at Hogwarts! I'm a legal adult now in the wizarding world!"_

_Lily suddenly froze. Seventh year? She pondered the thought. Of course she knew that it was her seventh year, but she just hadn't realized exactly what that meant. NEWTS. Graduation. Stepping into the unknown, where a war was raging. Fear crept into her heart, accompanied by a great deal of sorrow. Her last year…..no more Hogwarts? The thought was unbearable. Pull it together Lily! She reprimanded herself as tears prickled in her eyes. You're Head Girl! You're a Gryffindor! You can do this. With that thought in mind, she gathered her things and, bracing herself, began descending the stairs of her simple 2 story house. _

"_YOU!!" exclaimed Petunia, pointing an accusing finger at her. _

_Rolling her eyes at Petunias dramatic outburst, Lily shoved past her. _

"_DON'T WALK AWAY FROM ME LILY MARIE!!YOU-YOU….."Petunia faltered. _

_Lily had whipped out her wand. "Petunia, SHUT UP! I didn't do anything! I'm leaving now. And this summer I'll be moving out, and you won't ever have to see me again, so can't you at least be civil?" frustrated and way over trying to make peace with Petunia over something she could not control, Lily proceeded downstairs._

"_Morning Daddy!" she greeted her father. _

"_Well somebody's happy today. Glad to be rid of me?" He teasingly pouted. _

_Laughing she hugged him. "You know I'll miss you! And I'll write you every day!!"_

_Pulling away, her father, Daniel Fredrick Evans, raised his eyebrows skeptically, as if saying "ya, right"._

"_Well, maybe once a week…."_

_He raised his eyebrows further. She made this promise every year, and always broke it. _

"_Ok ok!! Once a month! More, if anything important happens. Satisfied?"_

_Grinning, he nodded and hugged her close. "I can't believe that you're 17!! My little girl is growing up!!"_

_Groaning, Lily pulled away. "Puh-lease! Besides, I'm gonna be late! It's already 10:50!!"_

"_Alright, alright. Goodbye, my gem. I love you!!" _

"_Love you too, daddy. Talk to you soon!!" _

_She gave him a kiss on the cheek and he returned with one on her forehead. Smiling, she apparated away with a tiny pop._

_She suddenly appeared in Kings Cross Station, facing the scarlet steam engine that was the Hogwarts Express. Smiling in a blissful sort of way, she took in her surroundings. This would be the last time she'd ride aboard the Scarlet engine to Hogwarts, her beloved school. Bittersweet memories flooded her mind….meeting Melody and Winter in a compartment…them explaining the whole muggle/witch thing…Unaware of her surroundings, she was shocked when a large force collided with her. She lost her breath and found herself on the ground, with someone's heavy torso lying over her legs, making it impossible for her to move. "OWW! "she exclaimed in an irritated voice. "Get off me!!"_

_The two quarrelling boys froze at the sound of her voice, and quickly scrambled off of her. _

_One of them was grinning ear-to-ear. "Hello Lily!! How was your summer?" _

_Glaring at Sirius Black, the mysterious trouble maker Lily knew to be one of the four marauders, Lily turned her attention to the boy next to him. James Potter._

"_Hello Potter" She said as coldly as she could manage, secretly wondering why it caused her so much effort to do so. She hated him! What was wrong with her?? He DID look very handsome, those gorgeous hazel eyes, that lustrous black hair, she could just run her fingers through it all day….Snap out of it Lily!! She thought frantically. No matter how much James had changed over the summer, going from teddy-bear-cute gangly Quidditch player to a God of all that is Hot-for there was no way else to describe him. He was __fine!! _Wait a second, since when did she fancy James? Snapping back to reality, she saw James smiling guiltily at her.

"Good morning, my darling Lily. I trust you enjoyed your summer?" He asked sweetly, a look of pure love in his eyes.

Mustering a glare, she huffed and whipped around, hitting him in the face with her crimson locks, and walked away.

"What's got her knickers in a twist?" muttered Sirius.

James glared at him. "What do you think Padfoot? Use your BRAIN. Now I already have a strike against me for this year. Don't you remember plan "get-Lily-to-go-out-with-me-before-the-end-of-the-school-year-and-hopefully-marry-me-because-she-is-the-love-of-my-life-and-I'm-hers-but-she-doesn't-know-it-yet"??

If Lily would have glanced back, she would've seen James gazing longingly after her, completely crushed.

"OHH!! Plan GLTGOWMBTEOTSYAHMMBSITLOMLAIHBSDKIY??"Sirius spoke quickly in hushed tones, all in one breath. "I forgot. Sorry, mate. Tough break."

There was a brief pause, with James staring after Lily, and Sirius looking serious as he concentrated on something.

"You know, Prongs, we need a better plan name." He joked.

James broke out of his melancholy mood, and lunged at his best friend, continuing their previous pointless wrestling match.

Rolling her eyes as she stalked away, irritated, Lily deposited her luggage in their usual compartment, and released Zuri from her cage. Zuri loved flying to Hogwarts, it was invigorating to her, and she loved racing the train. Stroking her beloved pet, she gave Zuri a kiss and then Zuri was off. Watching her owl fly off into the distance, following the winding railroad, she regained her previous ecstatic mood. Zuri never failed to calm her. Still watching the speck that was her owl, she was completely oblivious to Melody calling to her.

Melody was tired of trying to get Lily to come to her, she stealthily approached Lily. Holding her breath, Melody crept up behind her best friend, and tickled her sides while shouting "Hi Lily!!" Lily shrieked, jumping five feet in the air, startled into using explosive wandless magic, like she used to do when she was a small girl, before she knew of Hogwarts and witches and wizards and muggles and Quidditch and the Ministry of Magic.

Laughing, Melody hugged her friend, and Lily let a chuckle escape her.

"Melody!" she complained. "You're such a meanie!" pouting playfully, Lily turned away, crossing her arms.

Shocked, Melody tried to get Lily to face her. "I was just playing Lily! I didn't mean to scare you! You didn't hear me calling you!!"

Grinning and turning around, Lily once more hugged her friend, saying "Melody, Melody, Melody. When will you ever learn? It's called _joking. Sarcasm. Kidding. Playing around_. You take things WAY to seriously." Laughing, satisfied that she had gotten her revenge. Melody was always so serious. Lily tried and failed to loosen her up, but it was hopeless. But ya gotta love her. She was just a little special sometimes.

Melody had a slightly confused look on her face. Some might call her a pineapple. Dark on the outside, light on the inside. In other words, she was blond at heart.

The whistle blew loudly, once again starling Lily. She was just so jumpy these days! And despite her great mood, she couldn't shake this feeling something just wasn't quite right…..

When Lily and Melody found the compartment where Lily had earlier deposited her luggage, to find there were already two people in there….

"LILY!!" shrieked Becca and Amberly in unison. They hugged their friend, so happy to see her, and turned towards Melody, greeting her similarly.

The girls settled in, and told tales of their summer apart.

"Petunia was HORRIBLE!! She wouldn't stop ragging me, and she's got this new boyfriend, Vernon Dursley, although he's more of whale than a human-"

"We toured all 50 states! I would have to say Florida was my favorite-"

"But I liked California better, all the gorgeous beaches, none of the humidity-"

"Australia was AMAZING!! Bluey, you know how witches and wizards there thought Billywig's went extinct? Turns out some git, something Fletcher, had gathered them all and was selling them!! The magical law enforcement found him last month, amazing really that a duffer like him could actually catch them, ya know? Honestly from what I've read about them-"

"Melody! Melody! That's great and all about the Billywig's, but WHAT THE HECK DID YOU JUST CALL ME??

Now Lily had heard several stupid nicknames, all concerning her flaming red hair, particularly from Sirius, but Bluey?? Her hair wasn't blue the last time she checked…it hadn't been since Sirius magically dyed it in second year to a vivid turquoise, but why would she drag something from that far back up again?

"Oh, Bluey. It's what they call redheads in Australia. Cool huh? Kinda like 'onya' means 'well done', 'g'day' is hello, if you want to say "cup of tea" you say 'cuppa' instead of 'cup of'-"

"We get it, Melody," interrupted Amberly. "What about us? Any coolio Aussie nicknames for us?"

"Umm…….ya! I'll call you both drongo!" Melody burst out laughing at the confused expressions worn by Becca and Amberly.

"What?" Amberly, Becca, and Lily inquired.

Wiping her eyes, she settled down and replied "Oh, it's nothing."

The girls kept badgering her about it, but she just ignored them and instead directed her attention to the glistening silver-and-gold badge pinned to Lily's sweater.

"Congratulations!" she squealed, which caused Becca and Amberly to finally notice that their dear friend had made Head Girl, as they had all assumed she would have.

"We knew it!'

"Brilliant! That's great Lily! It'll look good on your Healer applications!"

"Eh, they'd want her anyway. She took every single OWL class, got OUTSTANDINGS in ALL of them, and still had time for the Charms, Potions, and Transfiguration clubs, not to mention her prefect duties and being head of the pep squad!! I don't know how you do it, Lily!"

Lily found herself blushing a deep red that could rival her hair any day. She smiled at her friends praise, and just shrugged it off.

Their day continued merrily, the friends joking and laughing at completely random things….rolling their eyes when Becca brought up the fact that a fair share of her muggle friends thought a black whole was going to swallow up the Earth and kill us all….which spurred a conversation on Bucket Lists, them announcing serious things like they wanted to find true love, ranging all the way to wanting to scale the Eiffel tower with Super Spidey Powers by being bitten by a radioactive spider, fly a pair of underwear from the tippity top, and then bungee jump down. Oh ya, Lily thought. It was good to be back!

Mid-day rolled around and the girls were getting hungry. Before the friendly witch, Magda, who got the job pushing the cart after she mysteriously dropped out of school in her 5th year, their was a knock at the compartment door.

And who walked in? Why the Marauders of course! James and Sirius swept in gracefully, each carrying a tray laden with food, followed by a timid Remus and a nervous Peter, also carrying trays.

"Helloooooo Ladies!!" James said in a sing-song voice while settling down next to Lily. "Hungry, my love?"

Lily looked disgusted and scooted as far away as possible, practically sitting on top of Melody. She should have known this was coming! Not one year had he failed to make an appearance in their compartment with his little friends. He always attempted to be chivalrous, and as Melody and Remus had been dating since 5th year, and Becca with Sirius since last year, they had been expecting them a lot sooner.

"Shove off, Potter." Lily snapped.

"Don't be like that baby! You know you love me!" but in a more serious voice he added, "And you know I love you."

She gave him a disgusted look, and then shrieked, loudly and shrilly.

He grabbed her hand, concern flooding his face. "LilyPad? What's wrong?"

She ripped her hands out of his and pointed a shaking finger at his chest. She was shaking in anger. How? HOW, HOW, HOW the heck could JAMES…??

He glanced down at himself, and his mouth formed a small "O".

His badge. His Head Boy badge. Strike two, he thought to himself miserably.

"Look Lily, I know you hate me and want to avoid me, but I didn't ask for this! It's not my fault Dumbledore's crazy. I never expected it either! I'll resign, if it makes you happy. That's all I want. Besides, Remus deserves it more…I won't bother you again. Not this year, not the rest of our lives." He dejectedly turned away from her and walked out the compartment door, his shoulders slumped.

Lily was shocked. She stared after him, her mouth agape. She hated him, right? So why did it hurt so much to hear him say that? Shouldn't she be jumping for joy? He was going to leave her alone!! That's what she always wanted….right?

Sirius broke the silence. "I'll consider the operation a failure." And he followed his best mate, leaving the girls and Wormtail and Moony to puzzle over his words.

"Ummmm….I better go see if he's ok…See you around." He, too got up and followed, Peter scurrying to keep up with his long strides.

"Lily-" began Amberly hesitantly, but Lily cut her off.

"Just leave me alone. I need to think."

With that she left the compartment, heading towards the Heads compartment where she could be by herself.

Wandering through the corridor, she pondered her contradicting thoughts. What was wrong with her? From day 1, when Lily had set foot on the Hogwarts Express for the first time, she hated James. He was an arrogant prick. He'd proved that to her, time and time again. While Lily was famous for giving second chances-or even firsts to those whom no one else would give one-she made an exception with James. But was that changing? What happened to suddenly change her mind about liking James Potter? She was so confused!! She loved James, but she hated him too!! How could this be? He seemed to have no doubts about his feelings, why should she? Why couldn't things just be black-and-white this-or-that simple?

She came to the reserved compartment, with it's "Heads Only" plaque. She opened the door, her eyes filled with tears of frustration. She hated feeling confused. She plopped down onto the seat and huffed loudly, only to hear someone catch their breath.

She blinked and looked around, noticing for the first time she was not alone. James was there, too. Huddled by the window. He nodded to her, but got up and made to leave.

"James, wait!" she exclaimed, her voice cracking.

He turned around, facing her with unmistakable sorrow in his eyes, and said" No, Lily. I'm tired of waiting and getting my heart stomped on. I can't do it any more. I love you, and you made it perfectly clear that the feeling isn't mutual."

Lily's heart broke then and there.

She couldn't take it. He whipped out of the compartment, reducing her to tears. She came to the conclusion she MUST love him. Why else would she be thinking about him and crying when he breathed the words she used to think she wanted to hear? But something had changed, inside of her. In her heart. It was sudden, unexpected. She loved him. She knew it. It had to be true. And he loved her….or did. Lily curled up in a ball, later to be found by Remus and Sirius.

There was a soft knock on the door, and Lily choked out a muffled, barely audible "Go away".

But they didn't listen to her. They opened the door silently, closing it equally so. Remus rushed over to her. They had met on the train first year and had been like siblings since. She had a disappointing sister that didn't want her, and he had and older brother, Callum, who shunned him for being a werewolf. They both were outsiders in their own family for something they could not control. It brought them together, and they became just like siblings. Real siblings. That cared and loved you the way you are, plain and simple. He pulled her into a brotherly hug, and the waterworks REALLY started then. She couldn't stop.

It seemed like hours-and probably actually was- before she hiccupped herself into silence.

"Red, what's wrong?" Asked Remus gently, still holding her in his arms, while Sirius held her hand comfortingly.

Through her puffy red eyes, she could see the concern etched on both the Marauders faces. She took a deep breath, and asked in a scratchy, hoarse voice, "What are you doing here?"

"Red, you were crying of course we're here!"

"How'd you know? And why'd you bring HIM?"

"We were walking to the front to buy some snacks, and heard you. Do you want us to leave?" Remus asked in a confused voice.

"No!" she frantically protested, clutching both of them closer. "Don't leave. It's just-why do You care, Sirius?

"Because, you're my best mate's girl. Seeing you hurt would be seeing him hurt."

"You're wrong." she quietly countered. She then proceeded to tell the two boys exactly what had happened. Not just James' crushing words, but the battle between mind and heart that had been raging all summer. She told them of her hearts victory. And it's recent breakage.

Remus's face hardened with every word, and Sirius went from surprised to aghast to shocked to just plain appalled. Sure, Prongs had two strikes against him and plan GLTGOWMBTEOTSYAHMMBSITLOMLAIHBSDKIY was looking more and more impossible, but for him to just give up and intentionally allow strike three to come about, and right when Lily discovered his true feelings for him too!! It was just unbelievable.

"We've got to talk some sense into that boy, Moony."

"No, Sirius. I appreciate it, but after what he just said, I don't want to talk to him or see him again. I finally know how he's been feeling all these years. To have your love not return the feeling? It's unbearable. But this is between me and him. It obviously wasn't meant to be. I'll learn to live….. I've done it before," She muttered the last bit, allowing her true sorrow to creep into her voice that she was trying to keep so calm and collected. But Remus heard. His enhanced senses allowed him to pick up on everything. He knew she was referring to her mother, to her sister, and to her ex-friend Winter.

Sirius just wouldn't listen, though. He huffed, and swept out the door. Hopefully NOT to go tell a certain raven-haired boy everything she had just allowed to pour from her mouth.

IT was silent for a few moments after the door slammed shut. But then Remus whispered, "Lily, you're my friend, my sister. James is my friend too, but I will NOT allow him to do this to you. You certainly don't deserve it. But then again neither does he. You've been denying him all these years!! Ironic that he stops loving you right when you start!! Go figure!"

His only answer was a glare.

He cleared his throat awkwardly. "Well, uh….ya, sorry….it just slipped out!"

She rolled her eyes and smiled. "I know, I know. I love you Remus."

Unfortunately Remus wasn't the only one to hear her heartfelt sentiment. James had been filled in by Sirius, and had been hovering outside the door, working up the courage to apologize.

Fire coursed through hid veins and a little green monster blurred his vision. He turned on Sirius. "She loves ME, huh?? Ha-Ha really funny Padfoot." he glared at his best friend, turning on his heel and storming down the corridor. Sirius didn't know what to say. He felt betrayed by Remus and Lily both. How-? Why-? His mind couldn't wrap around the thought that Lily had just lied to him. She loved REMUS? Shocked and hurt, and also feeling guilty that he had rose Prong's spirits only to see them crushed before his eyes, he retreated to the compartment where his girlfriend Becca sat with her two friends, all very confused. Apparently it would be up to him to break the news to Melody. Her boy friend was cheating on her with her best friend. This sure was turning out to be a dramatic year.

Needless to say, the usually level-headed and understanding Melody didn't take the news well. She flipped. Screaming curses at the top of her lungs, she stormed down the corridors, causing many heads to turn and compartment doors to fly open. She knocked down a pair of nervous first years headed to the bathroom, and lashed out at the food cart, causing Magda to shriek and knocking down pumpkin pasties, licorice wands, chocolate frogs and various other candies, causing boxes of Bertie Botts Every Flavored Beans to burst open and scatter. She didn't stop. She shoved shocked people out of her way, and stormed straight up to the Heads compartment, not even bothering to knock. She threw the door open, causing Remus and Lily, who had been chatting about their summers and complaining about their awful siblings, to jump. They were startled by her livid face, and Lily rushed up to her best friend in concern.

"Melody!! What happened?? Are you ok??"

"You know very well what happened and I'm obviously not bloody ok!! Just shut the bloody hell up and never speak to me again Lily Marie!!" She looked at her best friend disgustedly, who had confusion and absolute shock written all over her face. The tears that had so recently left cam back, flooding her eyes and blurring her vision.

"And YOU!!" she turned her attention to her boyfriend, glaring at him, slapping him clear across his face, leaving a crimson hand print on his cheek. "I hate you, you rotten, filthy, untrustworthy, good-for-nothing WEREWOLF!!"

Pain flooded Remus's face and he reached out to stop his love, who whipped around, her hair slapping him across his face, stinging his face which was hurt physically and showed his emotional pain. He grabbed her arm, but she pulled out her wand in a flash, screaming the spell relashio, burning his arm and making him let go.

He stared after her, heart heavy, his eyes reflecting Lily's pain. Two break-ups in one day! Oh ya, this was going to be a VERY interesting year...


	2. A Bleak Beginning

The arrival at Hogwarts was an awkward one. The girls usually sat together and the Marauders as well. But this year, their very last year at the magical school, Remus and Lily were isolated, feeling completely alone, huddled together at the end of the table with the terrified new Gryffindor first years. They had no idea why James had so coldly greeted Remus when he had approached him by the carriages. But everyone else knew. The rest of their house had apparently heard of what had occurred on the train….well, the misunderstood version. It was obvious as the Gryffindors were all shooting looks of pure hatred, disgusted, or unbelieving looks. How could the two perfectionists of Hogwarts CHEAT? Sure, it wasn't on a test or whatnot, but how could Lily do that to her best friend? How could Remus do that to his girl friend of over two years, the girl he has had a humongous crush on since he first talked to her in Diagon Alley first year? It was flabbergasting, absolutely unbelievable.

Of course everyone knew about Remus and Lily(except them of course), but why was Sirius all alone as well? Actually, where was Sirius PERIOD? He wasn't there, Lily realized as she scanned the sea of faces. Why wasn't he with James? Wait-did HE believe this story of Remus and Lily's secret affair? Lily pushed the thoughts of Sirius from her mind and concentrated on pushing her shepherds pie around her plate….she wasn't eating, or saying anything. How could she? Her heart had just been broken, not in two, which could possibly be repaired, but into millions of little shards, impossible to put back together once more. How had James done it all these years? Living? Surely it must have been pretty bad for him, being denied by his love every single solitary day. Sure he laughed it off, but Lily could always detect the pain in his eyes. His depthless hazel eyes………She glanced at him dejectedly, wishing she was over there, by his side, laughing and talking….but he looked just as upset!! He, too, was pushing his food around, while Peter Pettigrew, his little servant/lap-dog "friend" was next to him, looking like he'd rather be anywhere but with this surly James.

The food disappeared, only to be replaced with the puddings and ice creams and custards, cakes, and pies, none of which the three depressed teenagers took a bite out of. The feast finally ended, and Lily just wanted to get up to her dorm, where she may have to deal with the 7th year Gryffindors, but at least she would be able to close her hangings and ignore the rude comments and sour looks. But of course before she could make her escape, Dumbledore had to have his two cents, reminding everyone of the various rules and such, ending with:

"I bid you all happy dreams, that you may wake bright-eyed and bushy-tailed for classes bright and early tomorrow morning! Prefects, please lead your first years to the dormitory, and as for the Heads, congratulations to James Potter of Gryffindor, and also Lily Evans of Gryffindor!!"-a meager applause broke out of the tired students-"and may I please speak to you two before you retire. Thank you"

Everyone stood at once, pushing back the wooden benches, making an awful scraping sound. Students of all houses-Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, Gryffindor, and Slytherin-rushed to the monstrous double doors, eager to get to their warm, cozy, four-poster beds. Lily and James both fought through the stream of people going the opposite way as they made their way to Dumbledore, who was still seated, merrily sipping his beverage out of a amethyst-encrusted goblet.

The two heads stood stiffly side-by-side, uncomfortable with being so close to the reason their heart stopped beating.

"Once again, congratulations" Dumbledore greeted the pair. " I trust you've had a superb summer?" Without waiting for a reply, he stood suddenly, unusually graceful for a man that appeared so old. "If you will follow me, I will show you to your dormitory." At the questioning looks on the Heads faces, he continued. "Of course you two get your own dormitory!! I think you deserve it, yes? This way, you'll have a quiet place to concentrate on your studies and duties as heads. This way" He turned down corridor after corridor, until they came upon a tapestry of Nancy the Negligent, the witch who had forgotten multiple ingredients in a potion, resulting in a rather odd concoction that had never before been made, one that produced foam and turquoise bubbles that, when popped, revealed various odds and ends such as kazoos, fuzzy pink blankets, and statues of overweight cows. It was known as the

Bauble Brew, but was never re-created, as the many bubbles could reveal something rather large, as it had with Nancy the Negligent, who was crushed when one of the bubbles revealed a Giant's crystal ball, which fell right on top of her and killed her.

Dumbledore pulled back the tapestry, revealing a long tunnel. He led them down it, and turned a corner to reveal a blank wall with nothing but a little peep hole in the door, about knee-height. Dumbledore knocked on the wall, and Lily, who had her attention on the peep hole, noticed that it went dark, as if someone had peered through it. Then the door swung open! And standing there, in the doorway, was a house elf. It was dressed in the uniform of Hogwarts elves, a vivid purple toga with a Hogwarts crest broach holding it on at the left shoulder. The elf bowed low, and smiled widely at the trio.

"Good evening, sirs and miss. I be Mitzi the House Elf. I is to be helper of Heads, I is?" She bowed once again, her pointy nose touching the floor, her wispy black hair falling into her face.

"It's very nice to meet you, Mitzi!" exclaimed Lily. She had heard of House Elves, but had never actually MET one before!!

James just ignored the Elf, not looking at her or Lily.

"I trust your more than capable, Mitzi dear. I leave our two extraordinary heads in your hands." He smiled at her and his eyes twinkled, she blushed and bowed even lower than before, shutting the Headmaster out and turning to the two students who were gazing around in wonder, completely oblivious to each other for once.

"Ummm…..If it pleases the masters, I be showing you to your rooms now?" It appeared the House Elf only spoke in question form, and she was extremely nervous and jittery.

"That would be great Mitzi. This place is AMAZING! Where are we exactly?"

"Seventh Floor, miss?" she whispered. "If that pleases you?"

"Oh, yes Mitzi, I'm just hoping I can find my way back again!" Lily jokingly stated, smiling warmly at the elf, who returned it tentatively.

"The rooms be this way?" Mitzi led them past purple couches spotted with silvery stars, the ceiling was a replica of the Great Hall's, reflecting the sky outside, which was a midnight black with glistening stars winking at them. Past two desks which winged the bottom of an elaborate staircase, they climbed it to find it branched off in two directions.

"This way be the miss's room, if you will?" She turned to the right, and both Heads followed. At the top, a purple door stood, with a plaque that read "Lily Evans. Head Girl, President of Charms Club, Vice President of Potions Club, Secretary of Transfiguration Club, Head of Pep-squad, Soloist of Hogwarts Chorus, Member of Cleaning Committee, Historian of Honors Society"

The door opened, allowing the Elf and the girl to enter, but a magical barricade stopped James at the threshold. The room was enormous, a King-sized canopy bed lay in the center of the far wall. A pair of double doors opened up to a balcony, a dresser that could fit all of the Gryffindor 7th years cloths stood against a wall, and there was a closet as well. Her Trunk stood at the foot of the bed, and pictures from her own bedroom at home were all over the place, as well as posters of The Weird Sisters and every pro Quidditch team. It had a window seat in both of the windows that flanked the balcony doors. There was a desk as well, right next to a bookshelf filled with books that all appeared to interest her-magical and muggle both! The room was done in a deep green, her favorite color, and decorated with white Lily flowers, which sure, everything having to do with her name did get old, but it was so breathtaking she would have had it no other way.

Lily grinned, her own room? At Hogwarts? That was just-wow! "This is great Mitzi!! Did you do all of this yourself?"

"Um….yes, miss. I be in charge of the Decorating Crew. We's helps with all the decorating of common rooms, classrooms, and offices, and we assist Sir Hagrid at the holidays times, miss?" Mitzi mumbled humbly.

"Well you did a great job, Mitzi," Lily complimented her politely. "Lets go check out James's"-she barely was able to choke out the name-"room."

"Yes miss."

They proceeded to climb back down the stairs, turning left at the landing and climbing the short staircase to James's room. The plaque on his room stated "James Potter. Head Boy, Quidditch captain, Quidditch seeker, Prongs the Marauder"

Lily wondered briefly how whoever made the plaques, probably Mitzi, knew that he was Prongs the Marauder. Sure, Lily over heard them calling each other Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs, but why? And their little group was called the Marauders, and they were the mischief makers of the school. But why the funky names? Lily pushed this thought out of her mind as Mitzi opened the door and bowed low, allowing the two to enter the room. Lily wasn't surprised she was allowed in his room. Ancient magic allowed the girls to go into the boys dormitory, but not vice-versa. If a boy tried to enter a girls dorm, the stone stairs to turn into a slippery slide, causing them to slip and fall, sometimes banging their heads. Serves 'um right! Apparently girls are more trustworthy than boys-shocker. James's room was decked out in the colors of his favorite team, the Sumbawanga Sunrays(from Tanzania), which colors were gold and crimson, coincidently also the Gryffindor colors! Posters of the team and also of all six Gryffindor teams James had been on, from first year to six year, the poster for seventh year blank(probably until the team was decided) lined the walls, nearly covering every inch. The bed was king sized also, with a velvety scarlet comforter. The furnishings reflected hers, only the decorations and pictures of friends and family and Quidditch teams were different.

"I guess I'll just be going to sleep now," James muttered coldly, looking pointedly at the two.

"Oh, erm, night James." Lily said, a touch of pain in her voice, and showing clearly in her emerald eyes. Mitzi frantically bowed and scurried out of the room, holding the door open for Lily.

"Sleep well, Mitzi. Thanks for the lovely accommodations." Lily stated formally, remembering her manners.

"Is there anything I may get the miss? If you need anything all you needs to do is to call me name and I will comes." Mitzi bowed low, and with a snap of her fingers she disappeared.

Sniffling quietly, Lily went to her room and shut the door, realizing she didn't know where the bathroom was. Noticing a door beside the entrance, she opened it and found a hallway. She proceeded cautiously, turning right and going down a set of stairs. At the bottom she came upon an immense bathroom, with a swimming pool sized tub and a Jacuzzi! Not to mention a shower and two sinks and two doors that led to two separate toilets. Lily wondered why there was only one tub, were they to share? Hmm…..awkward!! She climbed in anyway, turning various knobs similar to the ones in the Prefects bathroom. She settled for the Grapefruit scented orange foam and soaked. She had barely been in there a minute when a door opened. Startled, she turned towards the sound, careful to keep herself shielded with the foam.

It was James. He blushed when he saw her, and looked away awkwardly.

"Erm, sorry Evans, I didn't know-"He muttered, embarrassed. "I'll just go now."

He left and Lily couldn't help but be confused. Why wasn't there a charm keeping him out, at least when she was in? She would have to work something out with him, maybe a schedule? But that would include talking to him! She decided from now on he probably would have the common sense to knock before entering from now on, and she would do the same.

Her relaxed mood washed away by the thoughts of James, she climbed out and dried herself, putting on a baggy t-shirt, her usual choice of pajamas. Slipping on her sea foam green fuzzy slippers, she shuffled wearily to her room, the citrus-y scent of Grapefruits following her. She climbed into her bed, the folds of the silky green comforter with it's elegant floral pattern engulfed her, and she fell asleep quickly in the depths of her tangled cocoon of blankets, dreams of James and her, simply laughing or talking, friends, for once. How she wished this dream would come true….


	3. Friendship Brew

_James……..James…….. James smiling…..James laughing…..James holding her hand, holding her………….._

"_Lily…..Lily……"_

Lily stirred, waking with a smile on her face. "Yes, James?"

"Err- I be Mitzi, Miss? Remember me? I is to be telling you breakfast is ready, if you wish to be eating it?"

Lily shook her head, clearing the sweet dreams from her mind reluctantly. James didn't love her. Not anymore. She was to have her first NEWT classes today. It was apparently time to wake up.

"Oh, um yes. I'll just get ready. Thank you, Mitzi."

"No problem at all Miss Lily? I is to be waking the mister now? Goodbye?"

"Goodbye, Mitzi, enjoy your day!"

The house elf backed out of her room. Lily glanced around, heaved a sigh, and reluctantly climbed out of bed, slipping on her fuzzy green slippers and tying her silk robe tightly around her.

Shuffling warily over to her dresser, peeking through the drawers. Pulling out her robes, she headed to the bathroom. Knocking, she found that no one was in there. She proceeded to get ready for the day, and then headed downstairs, looking stunning despite having not put in any effort at all, just robes and black flats and her hair pulled up into a sloppy bun. She was one of the few that could actually pull off the plain look and still look fabulous, particularly considering she normally wore no make up! Heading down the stairs, she stopped abruptly when she saw James. He was sitting with his back to her at a table, eating breakfast. Apparently when Mitzi referred to breakfast, she meant a private one, not the loud bustling breakfast that took place in the Great Hall. Mitzi scurried over to Lily, bowing low, and quipped "You not needs to be eating in here. Only if you wants to then the foods will be delivered for yous, miss.

"Oh, that's very kind, Mitzi, but I think I'd like to go talk to my friends. Thank you, though."

James eyed her as she left. Humph, he thought. When she said FRIEND she probably meant REMUS. James seethed over his bacon and eggs, all the while wondering why one of his BEST MATES betrayed him. And why Sirius had lied. And why Sirius hadn't been at dinner last night. Not that he CARED. Sirius was a liar. He was no longer his friend anymore. Peter was his BEST mate now. Sure, he wasn't that bright, or funny or mischievous, but at least he wasn't a back-stabber.

Lily walked around the school, she had no intention of actually going to breakfast. James hated her. She had no reason to live. No, she corrected herself in her head, there IS something to live for. There's Remus and school and dad and….. Well, she was sure she DID have a lot to live for, but it's not like she could actually count her blessings when her heart was in shards. Well, she figured, I might as well go to breakfast. Remus isn't talking to James, so he'll probably need a friend. And she really did want to know where Sirius had been the night before. Was he going to follow James' lead and shun them as well? She hoped not. No one would talk to her except Remus. Why was everyone mad at them? What had they done? She could understand James, but was everyone else mad at her because James was? He IS pretty popular, she thought gloomily, but she had TRIED to tell him that she DID love him, but he wouldn't listen! And now she was miserable. Remus too. Why him, though? Sure he was her friend, but James's too! This was all so confusing! It hurt Lily's head just thinking of it.

Reaching the bottom of the stairs, she noticed Sirius, looking menacing, he had a boy cornered. Narrowing her eyes, she approached them cautiously. As she got closer, she recognized the cornered boy, a 4th year, Sirius's little brother Regulus. "Sirius? What are you doing?"

"Oh it's YOU. Just teaching one of your fellow _Slytherins _a lesson." He glared at her. She was in shock. Sure, everyone hated her, but to call her a SLYTHERIN? That was the biggest insult a Gryffindor could possibly receive. What in the name of Merlin's most baggy Y fronts was going on?! She had to know! She had to get to the bottom of this. NOW.

"Sirius Orion Black!! I demand that you tell me what the bloody hell is going on right now! Have Remus and I caught Dragon Pox or something? WHY DOES EVERYONE HATE US? YOU, MELODY,BECCA,AMBERLY……?? What is going on?"

Tears of anger and frustration and pain filled Lily's eyes, she was not used to such mass rejection, only Petunia had ever hated her! It might be different if she had actually done something wrong, but she HADN'T! ….Had she?

"How thick can you get? BOTH of you? You think cheating is okay? Back-stabbing? LYING? I thought you were better than this Lily! But I was wrong. We all were." Glaring at her and Regulus in turn, he stormed into the Great Hall.

Regulus scuttled away, leaving Lily alone with her tears. She couldn't help it. She was confused and hurt and frustrated, she hated this! Being despised, and not even knowing what exactly for! She had her heart stomped on, and now she must endure this as well? Nobody deserved this. Not even Voldemort. Such pain was unbearable and unnecessary. Why wouldn't anyone explain to her? Why didn't James let her explain? IF he had……

Lily let her thoughts slip away into what-ifs and I-wishes. She imagined her and James, sharing a peaceful and blissful morning, eating in the living room of their dorm. Strolling in one of the many gardens, making it to class right on time, hand-in-hand, all eyes on them, him sitting with her in class….things would be like she wished, black-and-white simple, easy-as-pie. If only her thoughts were reality! But they weren't. She saw Remus approach her, kneel down beside her, and pull her into a tight bear hug.

"Lily, I know it's hard being in the spotlight, being glared at and whispered about, but it could be worse. Lils, it'll be ok….eventually. C'mon. I got our schedules. Let's go to class. Double charms this morning! Your favorite!" He tried feebly to cheer her up, but it wouldn't work. They walked in a depressed silence to Professor Flitwicks class, the silence only broken by Lily's sniffles and hic ups, and Remus's heavy sighs. This was going to be a tough year. But maybe soon they'd find out WHY everyone hated them. Then maybe they could fix it…and if not…..well, there was always Beauxbatons….

Professor Flitwick was alarmed at the entrance of his top students, not by the fact that they were early, but by the fact that Lily's eyes were red and puffy, her face blotchy, and both of them appeared to be in a state of depression. He knew better than to interfere with his students lives, but he couldn't help himself. Lily and Remus were star students, and he would do anything to help either of them.

"Remus? Lily? Is everything ok?"

"Yes, Professor, it's just that this year has begun with a very rocky start, to say the least." Remus replied.

"Oh. I see. Would you care to elaborate, Mr. Lupin?" He knew he shouldn't get involved….

"It's just that everyone seems to hate us, sir. Melody broke up with me, she was in a horrid state, but we don't know why. James as well has stopped chasing after Lily"-Lily let out a sob and the Professor raised his eyebrows, why would James give up and Lily be sad about it?-"and everybody seems to think were back-stabbers. Sirius even told us."

"Oh my. Well, that certainly is a pickle………." Professor Flitwick looked highly confused. Remus and Lily were not only model students, but always went out of their way to help a friend, or anyone for that matter. Why would anyone hate them?

The bell rang clearly through the castle and it's grounds, sending the students scurrying to class, nobody fancied being late on the first day, particularly the First Years.

Lily and Remus grabbed a table at the back, hoping to avoid the glares of others, hidden away in the corner. Of course, throughout the class, which was a mere recap of last year to refresh their memories, everyone seemed to manage to turn and shoot a nasty glance their way. Except James. And Peter. James stayed hunched in his seat at a desk shared with the plump boy, all the way in the front, which was completely unheard of. James Potter NEVER sat in the front. And he ALWAYS sat with Sirius. But Sirius was in the middle, at a table with Frank Longbottom, the 7th year Hufflepuff. Lily couldn't pay attention. She was distraught. She was not fond of this negative spotlight that was cast upon her. This was what it was like for the rest of the day, as she and Remus made their way through Defense Against the Dark Arts with their new professor, Elliot Hazenfefer, throughout Herbology, with Professor Sprout, and it was bearable. They had each other, at least. But then, for the last hour of the day, Lily had Advanced Potions, and Remus did not. That was the only subject Remus ever had had trouble with, so he had dropped it for his NEWT year. He had Muggle Studies instead, a class Lily had opted not to take this year, as she is muggle born.

Lily and Remus parted ways, and Lily made her way down to the dungeons, all alone. It was potions with the Slytherins. At least the didn't seem to hate her….well, anymore than usual, anyways. Lily was a little late, as she had been reluctant to go to the class that Melody, Becca, Amberly, James, AND Sirius all had as well. The only available seat was at the front. Next to Severus Snape. Now, Lily had somewhat forgiven him for calling her a mudblood, she honestly could care less about that slimy piece of Slytherin scum. He was a smelly, greasy-haired jerk with no friends, and Lily just didn't bother to hate him anymore. She sat beside him, only slightly reluctantly, with a whispered "Hi, Sev." She hoped maybe he would talk to her. Jerk or not, she was as much as an outcast as he was now, and she was dying for ANYONE to talk to her. Even if it was Severus Snape, her ex-best-friend.

He glanced up at her, but didn't say anything, just kept scribbling away in the margins of his battered old textbook. Embarrassed, Lily looked around the room, noticing Winter was also in this class, at the back, with Anisa. Figures. At least Lucius had graduated the year before, along with Kelsie, so nobody had to be subjected to Kelsie's insults and rumors, or having to see Lucius and Winter sucking face, draped all over each other all the time. The class began, and they had a review day, just like all their other classes, they were told to make a potion, any potion, that they had learned the previous year. Flipping through her book, Lily thought it might be nice to make a friendship brew.

"How about this one, Severus? Mikami? '_A brew capable of restoring any friendship.'_ how's that sound?"

Severus just shrugged, and went to gather the ingredients they didn't have in their kits from the supply cupboard.

They mixed unicorn hair, cherry wood shavings, Fwooper feathers, raspberry juice, ground mint leaves, belladonna, and lemon juice. The result was a fruity smelling potion, with a pleasant peach color. They turned in a vile with their names on it and cleared up. They were the first ones done. The other pairs were still working diligently, brewing Felix Felicius, Love potions, the Draught of Living Death and so on. Slipping a vile of the potion into her bag when no one was paying attention, Lily proceeded to try and read a book she had took from the shelf in her room, it was a muggle novel, a romance, called Pride and Prejudice. It was fabulous. She was already at the end, with Mr. Darcy, and the new Mrs. Darcy. If only that were her and James…..she sighed wistfully, until the bell called her out of her daydreams and into the Great Hall for dinner.

**(A/N please review! I want to know what everyone thinks of my first ever fan fiction! I'm Brittany by the way, and would just like to say thankyou to all my readers!Please review! It really makes my day! Oh, and I don't own Harry Potter or Pride and Prejudice. apparently your supposed to put a disclimer so their it is! :D Well, REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW! I want to know the truth! Just don't be TOO mean . :) love your author, Britt)**


	4. Paper Ball Blast

The rest of the week followed suit, dismal, gloomy, depressing, despite the sunny weather. But on Friday, entering potions with her head bowed, for the evil glares had not yet stopped, Lily sat down beside Severus, her ex-best friend from years past, until that fateful day when he had called her a mudblood, something truly miraculous happened. Severus Snape had SPOKEN to her. Lily's heart jumped, out of pure relief. She'd been DYING to talk to someone besides Remus. He was one of her best friends, but still, they had depleted their store of topics to talk about. She listened eagerly to what he had to say…

"Lily?" He asked softly as they all brewed The Draught Of Living Death. Madam Pomfrey needed to stock up for the year. When injuries were severe, The Draught Of Living Death would put the patient into a deep sleep, giving their body time to heal naturally with the help of the various potions and concoctions that would be force-fed to them.

"Lily?"

Shocked, Lily glanced up at him. "Yes, Severus?"

"It would work better if you stirred counter clockwise. It will turn the exact desired shade in half the stirs."

Potions. Her heart fell as she realized he wasn't going to be friendly, asking her how her summer was or whatnot. He just wanted to correct her potion brewing. Lovely.

Disheartened, Lily turned back to their potion.

"So…erm…how was your summer Lily?"

Lily was shocked. He couldn't….read minds…..could he? No, not possible she thought, he was just asking an obvious question. Not wanting to scare him off, or turn the conversation uncomfortable or bring back horrid memories. she gave a simple reply, "Great! Thanks. And yours? Did you do anything exciting?"

"No not really….but it was fine."

"That's good….." Lily was stumped. She didn't want the conversation to die off, but what could she talk about?

"So…."Severus spoke up, sensing her discomfort. "Enjoying your classes?"

"Yes, charms especially, you?"

"Of course."

"Umm….."

"So, how's dear old Petunia?"

Lily blushed. She was afraid it would come to this. She didn't like remembering when she first found out about magic, and Petunias initial hatred.

"She's good….has a new boyfriend."

"What's he like?" Lily started to relax and went off into a spiel about how horrible Vernon was.

"Oh, he's awful. Terribly hideous, as big as a cow, and he's going into the DRILL business, of all things! I mean honestly what could she possibly see in him……"

On and on she went, making Severus smile. Maybe they could be friends again after all.

To Lily, who was so glad someone had forgiven her for whatever 'crime' she had supposedly committed…her and Remus. The bell came to soon. Immersed as she was in her conversation, she jumped. Frantically putting everything away as to not be late for Transfiguration-because would McGonagall consider letting off someone in her own house for being a tad late? Oh no! This was Professor McGonagall we're talking about. NO ONE got off easy. Lily and Severus finished cleaning, and with a hasty goodbye, Lily dashed off to Transfiguration and Severus off to Ancient Runes. Skidding to a halt outside the Transfiguration class room, Lily jumped across the threshold, but a second to late. The bell rang before she was technically in the class room.

Professor McGonagall, who had been in her animagus form (a tabby cat with spectacle markings around her eyes.) Perched on her desk, transformed to her human form in the blink of an eye and barked "Detention, Miss Evans! Tsk tsk. I would have thought better of you than to be late! You're Head Girl. You ought to be setting a better example! Tonight, my office."

Lily blushed and nodded, head down, she scurried to her seat with Remus, all the way in the back.

"Where were you?" Remus whispered.

"Detention, Mr. Lupin! Join Lily in my office tonight, 8 o clock."

"Jeez, what's got her knickers in a twist?" muttered Sirius to Becca with a grin.

"Mr. Black! Detention! Tonight! Would anyone else like to join them?" Her eyes blazed at them, willing someone to make another comment in her class. Everyone avoided her gaze and got their supplies ready for the day, all the while wondering what in Merlin's name was her problem.

"Amberly! Melody! Please pass out these. One of either per student."

Amberly began handing out badgers, Becca large jewelry boxes.

"You are to transfigure your item into the other. So if you received a badger, turn it into a jewelry box, and vice versa."

She left the class to it, and they were brave enough to whisper quietly among themselves. She deemed this ok, they assumed, as she handed out no more detentions.

That night, Lily and Remus reluctantly headed from the library to McGonagall's office. This was new to them. Lily hadn't had detention since First Year when she disarmed James and Sirius, then levitated them up and stuck them to the ceiling with a little help from Peeves the Poltergeist, and his supply of Zonko's Joke Shop Zap Stick. Since then she had been careful to not get caught. Remus had been in a few detentions, but always because he was lumped in with the other Marauders.

"I wonder what horror she has in store for us? And Sirius?"

"Who knows…"

They reached the office, and knocked softly. The door opened magically for them.

"Take a seat, we're waiting for Mr. Black, surprise, surprise." She drawled in a bored voice.

They sat, awkwardly, in front of the Professor. "Scone? Pumpkin Pastie? Cookie?" She offered them a plate of treats, which they politely declined.

Sirius came skipping into the room, ignoring his fellow Gryffindors and addressing the teacher.

"Why hello, Minnie! Long time no see!" He grabbed a pastie without invitation and perched himself on her desk. "How's it going?"

"Just fine Mr. Black now would you please GET OFF MY DESK!?"

She tried very hard to stay stern, but a smile was breaking through her mask.

"Well, down to business! You all will be filing for me. The muggle way."

She pointed to a stack of papers to be filed. The three groaned simultaneously. It was THREE. FEET. HIGH. Seriously.

"Well, I'll leave you to it."

She left, and they wearily got to their feet and approached the files. Sighing, they divvied it up silently and began to work.

Sirius, who had problems with staying quiet for more than two minutes at a time, grew restless.

"Look, guys. How about we forget what you guys did, and we'll be friends, ok? But we won't talk about it. Kapeesh?"

"But what did we-"

"Uh uh uh!" he waggled his finger in Lily's face. "We're not talking about it. We know what happened, and there is nothing we can do about it. And I'm really getting tired of not talking to James….so, guess you two are the next best thing." They took no offense, but just shrugged it off. They'd gladly let it go to have a friend back again.

They filed and filed, silent as ever. But Sirius would not have that! Oh no! Glancing slyly out of the corner of his eye at his two newly re-acquired friends, he grabbed a handful of papers.

"PAPER FIGHT!!"

He threw the papers at the two shocked Seventh Years, who laughed and threw some back. Lost in the game, Remus and Lily verses Sirius, Sirius dived behind McGonagall's desk, and the other two took refuge behind a four feet high brick wall that Remus had conjured hastily. They grabbed the papers, and kept throwing them. But papers just don't go very far when thrown, so they balled them up and had a paper ball fight.

Laughing hysterically, they kept going. It was unbelievably fun!

Gasping for air and clutching at his side, rolling on the floor laughing, Sirius was ambushed, Remus and Lily had seized the moment to rush over and pelt him with paper balls.

"OK! OK! You win!" Sirius gasped. "OW!! Paper cut!"

Sirius nursed his slit finger, still laughing, Remus and Lily collapsed beside him, laughing uncontrollably. Leave it to Sirius to take a simple task like filing and turn it into something incredibly fun. And of course you could leave him to get people into trouble. But this was ALL their faults.

Professor McGonagall strode in. "Just checking on your-WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO MY OFFICE??" She flipped out. Remus and Lily cowered, guilt written clearly on their faces. But Sirius just kept laughing.

"Detention again! Tomorrow, six o'clock, sharp."

Sirius gasped, suddenly subdued. "SIX o'clock? In the MORNING?"

"Yes Mr. Black. Now, clean up this mess! Finish Filing! Let's go! Move it!" She barked, settling down in a squashy arm chair by her fire, following them with her beady eyes as they worked steadily, finally finishing at 10:15. They left groggily, wanting nothing more to fall into bed, but knowing then they'd have to wake up again all to soon.

(A/N So what did you think? Please Review!! I really love it when you do! Don't be afraid to criticize, it'll help me to become a better writer. Any tips you may have, I want to hear them! And just so any of you who've never filed a huge stack of papers before, it IS very hard and tedious. My friend Jelena and I had a paper fight one of the days recently when we were forced to file for a teacher at our school. We take geometry as 8th graders, so we go to the high school for first period, and you know how middle school starts later than high school? Ya, so for all that time, we just help teachers. It's very boring and totally not fair! The teachers give us the tasks they're to lazy to do, IMO lol. Well, hopefully I'll be able to update really soon despite the fact that EVERYTHING seems to be due on Monday! Anyways, REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!!

Lots of Love,

Brittany)


	5. Intervention

Lily's Charm Alarm sounded in her ears, chirping quietly at first, but rising to a loud BEEP BEEP BEEP when she didn't get up. Sighing, she glanced at her clock and saw it was indeed time to wake up. 5:30. She crawled out of bed, dragging the comforter with her, unwilling to surrender herself to the mornings icy cold. Grabbing a pair of jeans and an soft blue turtle neck, trudging over to the bathroom, reluctantly dropping her blanket at the door. Shivering, she locked both of the doors to the bathroom and lost herself in a sea of coconut scented foam. Scrubbing down quickly and washing her long hair, she rushed through her bath and climbed into her clothes.

Slipping into a pair of fuzzy boots when she returned to her room, she decided she was ready for whatever horror the Deputy Headmistress had in for them today. Taking the stairs two at a time-for it was already, and McGonagall wanted them a SIX AM, she rushed towards the door, but Mitzi stopped her when she appeared with a crack, a tray of bagels and donuts and other pastries in her hand. Lily screamed shrilly in surprise when the elf materialized right behind her with a "Good morning, miss?"

Breathing a sigh of relief when she realized that it was only the house elf. Grabbing a bagel and a cup of hot chocolate, Lily was about to leave when James came barreling down the stairs in his boxers with his wand at the ready.

"Lily! You ok?" He shouted, wild eyed.

"Yes, James. Just startled is all."

"Oh. Right then. See ya, Evans." He said, his concern fading away and a sneer replacing it.

Disheartened at James's sudden mood swing, Lily rushed out and to McGonagall's office, making it just in time, bleary eyed Remus and yawning Sirius already there. They smiled at the sight of her, and she plopped down in between them in front of the Professor, who didn't show any sign of tiredness.

Looking disgusted at Lily, who had just stuffed half of her bagel in her mouth, and chased in down with the rest of her hot chocolate, which scalded her throat on its way.

"Well then. Today you will be assisting Madame Pomfrey in the Hospital Wing. Hop to it. She's expecting you to be there in 5 minutes."

They scrambled to their feet, Lily relieved and the boys resigned. They hated the hospital wing. They'd both been in there more than their fair share. But Lily, Lily was an aspiring Healer and couldn't wait to help in a hospital like setting.

They walked to the Hospital Wing, to tired to talk.

They got there and threw the double doors open wide. Madam Pomfrey was there, she walked over to them briskly and handed them all aprons and gloves and little shoe covers, and also-

"HAIR NETS!!" Sirius exclaimed. "NO. No, no, no, no, NO!! I WON'T!! You can't make me! My HAIR!! My BEAUTIFUL HAIR!!"

"Mr. Black BE QUIET!" Madam Pomfrey hissed. "You'll wake my patient!"

They saw that the curtains WERE drawn around a bed in the far end of the Wing, but before they could inquire as to who the patient might be-

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!"

Lily and Remus jumped and looked at their lamenting friend. His lustrous, long, black hair, so silky smooth and perfect, was piled high on his head, in gasp a HAIR NET. Glancing at Madam Pomfrey, it was easy to see she had committed this evil, with her wand still pointed at Sirius, and a triumphant grin on her face.

Sirius sulking, and Remus and Lily laughing at him, they began the long day of detention. It wasn't long before Lily just HAD to bring up the one topic she was forbidden to……

"So, Sirius…….." she began slyly. "Talk to James lately?"

He eyed her suspiciously. "Of course not. He hates me because of-well, you know."

Dropping her act, Lily busted out "NO I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE BLOODY HELL YOU MEAN, SIRIUS ORION!! NOW YOU WILL TELL ME RIGHT NOW OR I'LL HEX YOU INTO THE NEXT BLOODY CENTURY!!" She whipped out her wand and backed him into a corner. Sirius gulped, Lily was known for her excruciating charms and hexes.

"But…….how could you NOT know?"

Lily sighed wearily. This had been going on far to long for her taste. "I don't know. After what happened on the train-EVERYONE won't speak to me. Except Remus. And now you. Oh, and Snape. But what I want to know is WHY? Why won't anyone talk to me, and to Remus either? What did we supposedly DO?"

"Well…….It's because of the fact that you two are secretly dating, so of course James is upset and Melody furious that HER OWN BEST FRIEND would be the one that her BOYFRIEND was cheating on her with, and everyone else basically thinks you guys are horrible back-stabbing liars and so they don't want to associate with you."

Lily's face got more and more shocked as Sirius spilled this information she'd been dying for.

"WHAT THE BLOODY HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?? ME--and REMUS? NO! Where did they get THAT idea from?? Ok, boy, sit down. I want the WHOLE story. NOW."

"Ok, ok. Well, after you told me that you really did love James, I of course told him, and he and I were coming to the compartment and he was going to apologize for snapping on you and everything, and everything was supposed to be all fine and dandy, but then, well.."

"Yes?" The two prompted.

"Well, we heard you, Lily. We heard you tell Remus here that you….love him. So then James got mad at me for lying or whatever when I really didn't and mad at you all over again and mad at Moony here for stealing his girl."

Lily melted at the words 'his girl'. That was all she wanted. To be James's girl……..

"I have to talk to him! This is all so stupid!" She started laughing like a maniac, through the tears pouring down her face.

"WHAT?" Sirius demanded.

"When I said that, well, I DO love Remus, but like a brother. It's always been like that with us…..since, well, since FOREVER. Since the train ride in first year. But I don't love James like a brother. I love him more than anything. It's……..unexplainable, but I DO. I love his hair and eyes and that special crooked smile he always gives me, his jokes and pranks and….well, EVERYTHING. I have to talk to him! Cover for me, will ya?"

She dashed out of the doors, casting her hospital-esque garb on the floor, leaving behind a satisfied Remus and a slightly confused Sirius. But then again, when was he ever NOT confused?

Running full speed all the way to the Heads Dorm, she didn't hesitate when she entered, gasping for air, and excitedly rushed up to James's room, intending to tell him everything………she threw open the door and said excitedly,

"JAMES! You'll never believe-"

But she was cut off by the sight that met her. There was James, but also………someone else. A girl. There, in his room, pulling away from him. She had been KISSING him. Kissing Lily's man. James and the girl-Lily recognized her as a giggly Hufflepuff sixth year, Abby Jones-were both looking shocked and slightly embarrassed, on James part. Lily's blood coursed red-hot through her veins and she wasn't thinking-she sprinted the length of the room, ignoring the stitch in her chest and the startled looks of the two, and tackled the little blond nightmare to the ground, furiously resorting to the old fashioned way of fighting-no wands. Just fists, teeth, and claws. Lily didn't get to do as much damage as she would've liked, though, James wrestled her off Abby, who was now sporting a fat lip, broken nose, and several deep, bleeding gashes.

"LILY! What the HELL are you DOING?"

He pushed her out of his room, following her, leaving the whimpering girl in the fetal position on the floor.

"You--Her--What? Why?" Lily spluttered.

James narrowed his eyes at her, and hissed "You'll pay for this Evans, NOBODY hurts a girlfriend of mine. Not even YOU."

Lily trembled and broke down crying, right in front of him. He just looked at her disgustedly and went back into his room, tenderly lifting his…….girlfriend………..into his arms and off to the Hospital Wing.

Lily didn't follow. She didn't care how many more detentions she received for skipping this one. She was crushed. She now could understand exactly why some people committed suicide. Not that she ever would, after her mothers death, and the death of her close muggle friend Courtney Lancoure, she valued life to much to do that. But she could definitely relate.

Not wanting to have to face James when he came back, she crawled to her room, shut the door, and curled into a tiny ball on the plush carpet, sobbing.

Meanwhile, Remus and Sirius were having a heck of a time cleaning the Hospital Wing's already spotless floor, with toothbrushes. They were almost done, groaning about their sore backs and Sirius still worked up about his precious hair. They were almost done when James of all people came storming in with a porcelain pale girl with pure blond hair in his arms. He swiftly laid her on the closest bed, and Madam Pomfrey, who had seen his entrance from her office, bustled over.

"What happened here?"

"She was attacked. By Lily Evans." James replied coldly, holding the hand of his whimpering girlfriend.

"Rubbish. Lily has been with me all day! She's right over there."

Madam Pomfrey faltered when she did not see Lily.

"You two! Where is Miss Evans?"

"Ummm……..bathroom?" Sirius suggested tentatively.

"Uh huh." Madam Pomfrey eyed them skeptically.

"Well, Mr. Potter, I will have a talk with the Headmaster about this. Honestly what has gotten into that girl lately?" She tsk tsk-ed

Her way to the potions cabinet, and had Abby cleaned up and completely healed with her nose perfectly mended in eight seconds flat.

Leading his so-called girlfriend away, James left. Sirius and Remus were absolutely shocked. Lily couldn't possibly have done that to that girl. It was utterly absurd. Absolutely impossible.

Looking at each other, they tossed their toothbrushes into the bucket of sudsy water and high-tailed it out of their. Madam Pomfrey was to preoccupied with whoever it was behind those closed curtains.

Running to catch up with James, they demanded an answer.

"What the hell did you blame LILY for? And why are you with that skank? I thought you loved Lily!?"

"LOVED. Not anymore. That is quite obvious, thank you very much. And she DID attack my girlfriend. Just burst into my room and-" Suddenly he broke off, as if remembering that he wasn't talking to his two best mates anymore. He continued on to his dorm with them tailing him.

"Shove off!" he told them multiple times. They backed off, but didn't leave.

When they got to the tapestry of Nancy the Negligent, the two Marauders followed the couple, down the corridor and to the door. James and Abby went in, and James slammed the door in his ex-best friends faces. They knocked, and Mitzi appeared, seeing who they were, beckoned them in, as they were on Lily's "Allowed to come in" list.

"Lily be's in her room, sirs? She is not to happy she isn't sirs? You want to see her am I's correct in saying, sirs?"

"Ummm…..yes. Which room?"

She led them to it, and they could hear the slightly muffled sobs that filtered through the door.

Remus quietly knocked. Lily audibly caught her breath, and stayed quiet.

"Lily, it's us." Remus breathed quietly, opening the door a crack.

"Can we come in?"

Lily hiccupped and sniffled. "Ok" she said pitifully, wrapping her arms around her legs and leaning against the wall.

Remus came in, followed by Sirius.

"Can you tell us what happened? Did you really hurt that girl?"

Lily nodded, anger returning to her eyes.

"They were kissing. I came to tell him-hicc-that it was all a-hic-misunderstanding, but-"Lily cut off, burying her face in her lap, wailing. "Him-her-they!" she continued sobbing. "Then I-hic-lost control, and-hic-attacked her. James pulled me off and threw me out the door, and-hic-yelled at me. He said I'd pay for what I did. He's completely different! I don't know what to do!" She wailed.

Remus knelt down to comfort her, and Sirius left unnoticed.

**A/N heyy! Soooooooo sorry I took so long...and sorry for the cliffy. I have more, but you'll have to wait! teehee! Wellll...please review! I want to know how I'm doing! Constructive criticism is very helpful! So PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW!! If you review I just may post tomorrow... :D **

**Love, Britt**


	6. Together

Banging open James's door, Sirius stormed straight up to James.

"We need to talk. NOW," he demanded.

James sighed. He knew they really did need to. He missed his friend already, and this wasn't even as long as the two months they had gone without talking when Sirius almost got Snape killed and Remus's secret blown.

"Fine," He growled. He might want to talk too, but he wasn't going to comply so easily. It would tarnish his reputation. He turned to his supposed girlfriend, and asked, "Honey, could you please leave? We'll talk later, ok?" She nodded dismally, and James gave her a swift kiss on her forehead, and led her out of the door, turning her over to Mitzi to see out.

Shutting the door, putting a muffliato charm on the door, as well as a few other silencing and eavesdropping spells on it to assure they would not be overheard, he turned to his best mate, or ex-mate, anyways. Sirius was standing tense, his wand clenched tightly in his hand that lay at his side.

James began hesitantly, "So………."

"So WHAT?? You haven't spoken to me ALL YEAR and all you have to say is SO?? I don't think so, James Potter. Not only have you been ignoring me, but Moony as well? And LILY?? Even if you hate the poor girl, you can't go THREATENING HER. I won't let you," he said in a low, menacing voice. In one lithe movement, he whipped his wand around, and disarmed James. Circling his helpless fellow Marauder, he kept speaking.

"You crushed my little sisters heart. Lily is the only family I got besides the Marauders, you know the Blacks. Brothers fight, right? Ya, well, that's all fine and dandy, but hurting Lily, I don't think so. APOLOGIZE. You go in there right now, James Harold. You go in there and apologize to Lily. She loves you more than you could ever know, and you just crushed her, rejected her, after all these years. Unacceptable. Go say sorry," his voice was dripping with menace, a tone that could scare Voldemort himself.

"No." James replied, simply, coldly.

"YES!"

"No," James said calmly, but still as cold.

Sirius lost it. He hated this new James. This cold, uncaring, depressed, self-pitying, prat. This git that shattered Lily's heart beyond repair. He lashed out, putting James in a full-body bind.

James lay, stiff as a board, on the floor, glaring at Sirius.

"Now, you're gonna listen, and you're gonna listen good. This whole thing was stupid. A huge misunderstanding. Lily does love you. And I KNOW that you love her. You haven't shut up about her since the train ride in first year. No way you'd just give up all of a sudden. When you heard Lily tell Remus she loved him, she meant in the way she loves me, the way she even loves Peter. Not the way she loves you. Of course not. Remus and I have been her brothers, sure we're not always nice, but we're there for her when she needs us. Someone has to step in, since that great idiot Petunia won't. She loves him like a brother. Always has. So, they aren't cheating on Melody, or you, even though the two of you weren't dating. She loves you James. Or did. She loves the past you. Not the monster you've become. Torturing firsties, failing classes, being downright mean to her. Messing around with that air-head, Abby. Don't you understand? You jumped to conclusions. You and Lily are meant to be, and you're wasting time being stupid. Who knows how much time you have left, either of you, what with the war and all? Apologize to her. Please."

James eyes had changed throughout this speech, going from angry and annoyed, to confused, to understanding, to relieved, to horrified. Sirius undid the jinx, and James sat up, putting his face in his hands. Looking up, his eyes were still horrified.

"What have I DONE?" He whispered, shocked.

Sirius just held the door open, and James complied, trudging through the door in a daze, he pushed open Lily's door, and was surprised to see Remus in there with her. The barrier? Well, apparently it only worked against those Lily didn't trust, and also wouldn't hold if she needed help and someone meant her no further harm. Remus's face hardened when he saw James standing there. James mouthed "I'm Sorry." Remus nodded, his face softened. Of course it wasn't his fault. Just a bad misconception. James gestured to Lily. The barrier wouldn't allow him to enter at the moment. Remus understood, and gently lifted Lily into his arms. She didn't notice at all, the state she was in, a bomb could've gone off right next to her and she wouldn't have either seen nor cared in the slightest. Crossing the barrier, he gently switched Lily into James's strong arms. Lily did notice this. She looked up into his sorrowful face, and her fright changed to concern, for James. As mean as he had been, Lily would die if he was hurt. "What's wrong?" she breathed.

"I'm sorry. So, so sorry. I DO love you." He planted a tender, sweet kiss on her soft lips. He carried her to the couch, sat down, and cradled her close to him, planting delicate kisses from her temple down her jaw line, and back again. Lily continued crying, but quieter now, practically silently. "I'm sorry too, James," she mumbled once, but he quickly shushed her, and told her she had nothing to be sorry for. It was his fault.

"No," she disagreed. "If I hadn't snapped at you in the first place-"

"Then we'd probably not be here, we'd be somewhere else, with someone else. None of this would've happened, you would've kept being annoyed at me, and I would keep trying to win you over, with fruitless attempts, I'm sure. Don't try to change he past, it can't be. Cherish now, it's all we've got."

They snuggled closer, completely content, until they fell asleep, for once completely, blissfully, happy.

Lily woke, her eyes sore and puffy. But she was ecstatic. It took her a minute to remember why, though.

"OH!" She exclaimed, sitting up with a jolt of realization. This was not the smartest thing to do. She and James tumbled off the couch, him landing on top of her.

"Good morning, love." James laughed, startled.

Lily was breathless. James' face was inches away from hers.

"Good morning" she replied, breathless.

James chuckled at her bewildered expression, her wild hair, her bright green eyes. He made no attempt to move, he just laid there, on top of her, staring into her eyes. Lily's mind was clouded as she stared back into James's warm hazel eyes. She couldn't believe it…….they were together. Together-together, that is. Boyfriend-girlfriend. At least, that's what she thought they were……. Then she remembered Abby.

"Umm……..James?"

"Hmm?" he answered, soaking up her eyes, her face, her luscious lips.

"What about Abby?"

That woke him up. "What about her?"

"Well, she's kinda your GIRLFRIEND."

"Oh. About that, I never really liked her Lily…….I was just upset is all…….."

"I know, but you need to tell her……….well……….about us."

"And what are we exactly?"

"I don't know."

James knew what he WANTED them to be. "Will you go out with me, Lily Marie Evans?"

Lily was inexplicably happy to hear that. As many times as she'd heard those words uttered by James (3768954, according to Sirius's count) it had never meant as much to her.

"Yes," she breathed.

James, exuberant to finally have that response, leaned in, and kissed Lily passionately, his heart soaring, her stomach being attacked by butterflies. She kissed him back, making up for all that lost time. When they finally broke away, gasping, faces flushed, they could do nothing but grin at each other. They were finally together. Nothing else mattered. Not the war, not the past. Just them.

They got back on the couch, because as much as Lily loved James, she did not particularly like being crushed. It was Sunday, and they weren't going anywhere.

At least, that was their plan, until Sirius just waltzed into the room, saw them cuddled on the couch, just talking to each other, with the occasional sweet kiss.

"OI!! Love birds!! Get off your lazy bums. We're going to Hogsmede."

"It's not a Hogsmede weekend," Lily replied, confused. "We make the dates and it's definitely not till the weekend after next."

"Your point?" Sirius asked cockily and James just grinned.

"What he means, Lil, is that we'll be going Marauder Style. Go get dressed, love."

Still slightly bewildered, and also nervous, because she knew this couldn't be within the rules, if it had Marauder in the name, she hurried to her room and dressed hastily. Any moment away from James pained her. Scurrying back down, she bounded right into James's arms. He was waiting at the bottom of the stairs, already dressed in jeans and a midnight blue sweater.

"You look beautiful," he murmured in her ear, taking in her tight fitting jeans and ivory turtleneck. She blushed to the roots of her flaming red hair, which cascaded down her back in soft curls.

This annoyed Sirius to no end. "Oh please! Let's get going." he demanded, rolling his eyes.

He led the way out of the dorm, and they all headed over to the Gryffindor Common Room. Approaching the Fat Lady, the portrait that guarded Gryffindor Tower, Sirius had the password out of his mouth before she could ask for it. "Knargle"

The portrait swung open, allowing them entry. Sirius scrambled through the portrait hole, then James, who helped Lily in behind him. Clustered around the toasty fire were their friends, Peter Pettigrew and Remus, the other two marauders, and Melody, Becca, and Amberly. Lily was tense. Were the girls still upset with her? James rubbed soothing circles on the back of her hand, and it comforted her just knowing that he was with her.

"Hi guys" Lily said tentatively.

Melody burst into tears, rushing forward and seizing Lily up in a tight hug. Lily couldn't help it, she cried too. "I'm so sorry!" Lily exclaimed.

"Don't be silly," Melody replied with a sniffle "I should've listened to you."

The two smiled at each other, and Lily went to hug Becca and Amberly as well. The grins would surely not leave their faces for a while. They were so happy and relieved to be friends again.

Remus was holding hands with Melody, who had her free arm linked in Lily's, and on Lily's other arm was James. Sirius and Becca were laughing together, Peter relaxed next to Remus, Amberly soaking up the scene with her ocean blue eyes. This was how it was supposed to be. The eight friends together, not fighting, happy, joking around, sneaking out to Hogsmede. Too bad all times were not as light-hearted as these.

**A/N Bout time they got together, huh? Stay tuned for their trip to Hogsmede!! REVIEW PLEASE!! I know there are lots of you reading, but I love to read your reviews, good or bad. :D **

**-Brittany**


	7. First Defiance

**Ok, I'm unbelievably sorry for taking this long to post!!!! I just have't had much time, what with geomtry and everything. But I mostly blame my evil science teacher, Miss. I Don't Know How To Teach A GIfted Class And I'm a Meanie And Belong On What Not To Wear Because I Always Look Really Frumpy And Have Stringy Hair And Talk To People Like They Are Babies And ToTop It All Off I'm Just Plain Stupid. Yes, That's SOOOTotally her name. Just ask Sirius'sweetheart, my bff, author of An Encounter With Fate, she's in that class too. :S It really sucks. ANYWAYS I've babbled enough. On with the story! Hope you like it!!!!!!!! :D **

The corridors were silent as the eight tip-toed towards the statue of the humpbacked witch. Everyone must've be outside enjoying the nice crisp weather.

"Descendio" Peter muttered when he reached the statue. The hump opened up to reveal a dark passageway, that the Marauders knew led to Honeydukes cellar. Their laughter bouncing off the cold stone walls as they trekked through the long tunnel, they made in their in what seemed like seconds. Time just flies by when you're having fun. They emerged from the tunnel, into the cellar.

"You know, not all of us can fit under my invisibility cloak……" James said uncertainly. "How are we going to get out without being noticed?"

"We'll go incognito." Lily said with a grin.

With that she got to work, transfiguring everyone into looking like they were 21, and therefore not in school any longer. To Sirius's delight, Lily gave him a beard and curly mustache, though he was wary of the fact his hair had also been transfigured into curly bronze colored locks, because what if it wouldn't change back?! Melody, Amberly, Lily and Becca became stunning quadruplets, all with long, straight, honey blond hair. To tell them apart, they all got streaks in their hair, that matched their changed eye color. Melody got shimmery gold that matched the flakes of her hazel eyes, Becca, baby blue, Amberly, vivid purple, and Lily, green, because James wouldn't let her change her eyes, they were to pretty, he said. James was blond with brown eyes, Remus now had blue green eyes and black hair, and Peter stayed virtually the same, with added facial hair.

Ready to go, they stealthily entered Honeydukes. Peter tripped over his two left feet and crashed into a display of blood flavored lollipops. Everyone shushed him, and Lily helped him back to his feet. But the damage was done, they'd been heard. Hurrying to spread out so they would appear to not have just come up from behind the counter, Peter and Lily proceeded to clean up and everyone else tried to look engrossed in examining a multitude of sweets, Chocolate Frogs, Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, Bertie Bott's Every Flavored Beans, Sugar Quills, Fizzing Whizbee's, and even a section of muggle sweets added especially for Dumbledore, who did indeed have a strange liking for them, particularly lemon drops. The owner of the little delectable sweet shop, Ambrosius Flume, scurried over from where he was arranging Licorice Wands that had been piled helter-skelter on a shelf mixed in with a bunch of Cockroach Clusters and Toothflossing Stringmints. Not really interested in the candy store, as they had been there many times before, the eight left, but not before Sirius could stock up on all his favorites: Pepper Imps, Jelly Slugs, Acid Pops, Chocoballs, Exploding Bonbons, Ice Mice, Sherbet Balls, shimmering pink squares of coconut ice, and thick slabs of all kinds of yummy chocolate. Remus dragged him away from the stands of new bone-shaped flea-repelling chews that were made for dogs, and they left, Sirius complaining quietly that the fleas were really horrible but was quickly shushed by James. Melody, Becca and Amberly didn't know about their special abilities. They hurried down the lane, heading for the new club, that had it's Grand Opening that night. No wonder Sirius wanted to go tonight. The only thing he loved better than dog biscuits was a good Fire Whisky. The new club, The Acidic Cauldron, was supposed to be pretty cool, and where else would the Most Awesome Gryffindors Of All Time(as they liked to refer to themselves) hang out on a weekend?

Well, seeing as how it WAS only one o'clock in the afternoon, it wouldn't really be so much fun. Who goes to a club before eight o'clock at the earliest? So they decided to spread out, splitting up into groups, Lily and James, Melody and Remus, Becca and Amberly, and Sirius and Peter. The latter didn't care to do anything special, but they were going to start planning the Beginning Of Year Prank, as it had not yet been executed due to The Big Misunderstanding. The two newly together (or together again for Remus and Melody) couples were having something a little more romantic in mind, while Becca and Amberly really just wanted to do some MSI (Mindless Self Indulgence) for a change.

The day past swiftly, James and Lily ended up at Madam Puttifoot's, the romantic little café in Hogsmede, while Melody and Remus went for a stroll, Peter and Sirius were holed up in Zonko's Joke Shop (they were in pure heaven) and Becca and Amberly shopped till they dropped at a table in the Three Broomstick's with some tasty butterbeer. As the clock ticked away, closer and closer to eight, the time they had planned on meeting up in The Acidic Cauldron, they all casually made their way over there. Meeting at the door, lucky to remember what each other looked like, those who had been shopping minimized their purchases and merely slipped them into a pocket. Then they strolled through the door, intending to have a blast partying all night.

Sirius ordered a round of butterbeer to start them off, and they sat at the counter and watched as people-witches, wizards, hags, and ghosts alike-meandered through the door in clusters.

The club started to get full, and now the party could really start.

"Care to dance?" Sirius asked Becca cockily with a wiggle of his eyebrows. Becca giggled, and nodded, and was swept off his feet by Sirius, who was actually a fabulous dancer, thanks to the dance lessons his mother had put him and Regulus in to avoid looking stupid and ridiculous at get-togethers.

Remus and Melody were gone next, and Amberly wandered away into the crowd. Peter sat in the corner and hunched in on himself. He hated parties.

"We don't have to stay TOO long, do we?"

"Aw, c'mon, Pete! Get up! Go dance. Might as well make the most of being someone else for a night. You can be whoever you want to be."

Peter looked reluctant, but after some more encouragement from James and Lily, he was up and about, disappearing into the crowd. James turned his attention to his girlfriend in disguise. With a flourish, James stood and bowed deeply at the waist.

"Would my dear lady do me the honor of bestowing upon me a dance?" He drawled in what was meant to be an attractive voice.

Lily couldn't help it, she burst out laughing. Her eyes streaming with tears of laughter and gasping for air, she tried desperately to control herself. Playing along with James, who hadn't faltered from his prim and proper act, she said "Why yes I will, my kind sir." And with that the two were off, spazzing out to some crazy music along with Sirius, Remus, Becca, Amberly, and Melody.

It wasn't until hours later that they left the dance floor, panting for breath. The girls long ago discarded heals lay on the seat of a booth, along with their purses and such. They seven collapsed into the booth, laughing hysterically.

They had just ordered some firewhisky and were waiting for it when the door to the Acidic Cauldron exploded, melting away into a smoldering heap on the threshold. Everyone froze, and the atmosphere was tense. No one dared to breathe. A cloaked figure stepped through the door. That's when the screaming began. Death Eaters swarmed in. James took action, shoving the girls under the table. He, Remus, and Sirius formed a barrier on the side of the booth not connected to the wall or another booth.

"You guy's apparate out of here! NOW! We've gotta help."

"But, James-" Lily objected, her eyes filling with tears.

Becca, Amberly, and Melody accepted it better. Becca and Melody whispered a passionate "I love you, be safe" to each of their boy friends, and left with a pop, Melody grabbing Lily at the last moment so Lily came by side-along apparation. It's not like Lily would have WILLINGLY left her boy friend in there with nine Death Eaters.

The girls appeared again in the dark, damp tunnel under Honeydukes. An angry Lily was restrained with an anti-apparation charm and a silencing one as well. The other girls settled in to wait for the boys to come, worry etched on their pained faces. It's not like they wanted to leave their boyfriends and friends either, they just knew if they hadn't, the boys would've been to worried about them being in the middle of a fight like that that they would have paid the Death Eaters no mind and it would've been worse on everyone.

Meanwhile, the boys were battling a Death Eater each, along with some other brave partiers who had not apparated away at the first sign of danger. These others were made up of only four others, some bloke in a deep blue cloak, a witch and wizard couple, and a man that the three actually recognized…..Rubeus Hagrid, the young gamekeeper at Hogwarts. He had whipped out a flowery pink umbrella from which spells were now shooting, the spells of two Death Eaters deflecting right off of him.

The Death Eater whom James now faced was short….stout, and not a very good dueler. He was soon on the ground, and James turned to take one of the two Death Eaters on that had been cornering the young witch. This one knew what they were doing.

Lily fought against the bonds around her that prevented her from apparating back to help James. But charm's were definitely NOT Becca's strong-point, and this one she had learned on her own, it was not the type of charm taught in Flitwick's class. She hadn't executed it perfectly and it was already starting to wear off. Lily could sense this, as she was the best Charm's student to pass through Hogwarts in…well, forever. She struggled against the tiring Charm, and with a bright burst of wandless magic, magic that could only be unleashed in a time of dire need, and through great emotion. Lily's love for James fueled this magic, and the Charm was removed, as well as the silencing one. Before any of her friends realized this, she was gone with an almost inaudible *pop*. The girls looked around at the whisper of a sound, and realized what had happened….

Lily arrived right under the booth she had been previously shoved under. The sound of her arrival was masked by the dueling that surrounded her. Stepping over an unmoving cloaked body, Lily threw herself into the fight, joining up next to Hagrid and taking out one of his opponents wit ha simple Full-body Bind. Once the Death Eater was on the floor, she stunned him and turned to the other Hagrid was attempting to fight off with his meager knowledge of spells. He soon was on the floor next to his fellow, covered in unseen pus filled boils, because they were of course covered by the long black cloak that obscured every inch of the person from view. Glancing quickly around her, Lily counted nine Death Eaters. One on the ground by the booth, the two stunned on the floor, and another three also on the floor, unconscious. Three were still fighting…….one with the still disguised James, one with a skilled dueler in a deep blue cloak, and another facing a witch and wizard. Lily and Hagrid both jumped back into the fight enthusiastically, and soon two more were down. As all eight fighters cornered the Death Eater, he apparated away. Remus turned around calmly, as if Death Eaters appeared out of no where every day and he fought them with ease. He summoned them all into a circle and tied them up tightly with magical purple ropes. But one was missing………there were only seven tied up Death Eaters, the one of course had fled, but where was the short one who had been down first? The one by the booth? It appeared he had snuck away.

The Ministry Of Magic were alerted, and they quickly arrived and swept away with the Death Eaters in tow to lock them up in Azkaban.

James rushed over to Lily, hugged her fiercely, and she hugged him back, never wanting to let go.

"Lily what are you-"

"James I was so worried-"

They both started at once, and then stopped abruptly.

Lily gazed with tear filled eyes, looking into James's, surprised to find them angry…….at her? Surely not. He was never cross with Lily.

"James?" Her voice reflected the hurt she felt inside. His eyes softened when he heard her.

"Oh Lily!" He crushed her to his chest. "Why did you come? I told you to leave! You could've been hurt! You could've been-"

He stopped there, letting his sentence trail off, the fury sneaking back into his eyes.

"Are you mad?" She whispered worriedly.

James shook his head. "No, not mad at you, I suppose." He planted a sweet kiss on her forehead. "More of myself. I don't want you hurt. And you could've been, and I would've been powerless. If something like this comes up again, I want you to listen to me, ok? I can't live without you."

Lily immediately agreed when she heard the tone of his voice. It was urgent, scared stiff. James was not easily scared.

"Ok, ok. But keep in mind I can't live without you, either."

James picked her up with ease, carrying her out, not looking back.

It was in that fashion that they met up with Remus and Sirius in the alley beside the club.

"Is she hurt?" Remus gasped, when he saw Lily in James's arms.

"No, I'm fine," Lily sighed, the fear catching up with her.

"Oh" Remus sighed in relief.

"C'mon let's go find the girls." Sirius urged. Clearly Becca was on his mind.

They reached the tunnel in record time, and were relieved to see that there friends were fine. Well, the girls anyways.

"Where's Pete?"

"We thought he was with you guys," Amberly replied, puzzled.

"No……"

"Probably went back to Hogwarts"

They agreed that this was probable, and headed back to their school, shaken by their encounter with Voldemort's followers.

They reached Hogwarts in record time, hoping to find Peter waiting for them, back to his mousy self as their transfigurations had worn off. But he wasn't there……..

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

He WAS in a fire lit room, kneeling in front of a sterling silver throne that was encrusted with emeralds. In that chair sat a man in extravagant robes, with an uncanny resemblance to a snake. He was chalk white, with eyes as red as the blood he spilled so often. His nose was no more, just two slits in his face. His voice was a menacing hiss, very fitting.

"I'm disappointed in you, Wormtail," Peter winced at the sound of his masters voice, and the use of the pet nickname given to him by his friends…..it wasn't meant for non-marauders to use.

"You have failed me……..I wanted the Potter boy, alive. The information you have been providing me has been quite useful, but how am I supposed to hold information hostage, hmmm?"

"Y-you can't, my lord. I'm sorry. I will try harder."

"Yes, yes you will. But perhaps a little encouragement is called for in this case, yes? CRUCIO!"

Peter shuddered and cringed, an earsplitting scream escaping his lips.

It wasn't until five minutes of endless torture when Voldemort pulled back his wand, still laughing mercilessly.

"Go from me, now, Wormtail, you worthless slime ball. And send in Malfoy"

"Ye-yes, my l-lord." Peter bowed low, and scurried out of the room, not leaving the building before the sound of Malfoy's (the Death Eater who fled)screams reached his ears.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Peter snuck into Gryffindor Tower, hurt by the fact that Remus and Sirius were both sound asleep, both apparently had not been concerned about him. This was exactly why he had joined the Death Eaters in the first place when Malfoy, who had been a year ahead of him in Hogwarts, had asked him to join. They cared about him. Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, Lestrange, Bella and Cissa Black, THEY were his true friends. They listened, they understood, they included him, and didn't make fun of him. The Marauders was his past. He had found a clique in which he felt he belonged now, and that was where his loyalty would lay.


	8. Relief & Reward

The morning dawned, a weak sun trying to penetrate the thick layer of clouds.

"Morning!" Lily exclaimed in a chipper voice as she bounded into the boys dorm.

She'd been up for an hour, along with James. She decided to get the others while James went down to breakfast. His stomach was feeling deprived as he had gone to bed with nothing in it but fire whisky and butterbeer.

When the boys didn't stir, her mouth turned up in that mischievous grin she was famous for. If the boys had been awake, they'd be afraid. Very afraid, and rightly so. Behind her eyes, there was a plan brewing.

After only five minutes of wand work, her plan was ready to be executed. But she wanted some witnesses to this historic event.

Lily tiptoed out, into the common room. She was going to get the girls, but they were already descending the staircase, yawning widely.

"GIRLS!!!!," Lily stage-whispered, turning many heads of the sleepy Gryffindors. Lily ignored them and went on. "PST!!!! Over here!!!!!!!!"

They came, a little amused, a little irritated. It was much to early for Lily's shenanigans.

"What?" Becca asked crossly.

"Now, now, Bec, mind your manners!" Lily replied in a sing song voice. Becca just glowered. "Oh fine, be that way. But I know just how to put a smile on your faces. Follow me, but be quiet." Lily went into stealth mode, her fingers forming a gun as she walked sideways, crouched low to the ground, again attracting the stares of many. She was in spy mode. The girls rolled their eyes. Lily would be Lily.

Music played in Lily's head.

Dun, dun dun dun dun, dun dun dun dun, dun dun dun, dundududududududun!

The door to the boys room creaked open, and Lily straightened, pulling out her wand with a flourish.

Amberly stifled a giggle when she saw the state of the boys.

Remus was clad in nothing but a pair of shimmery pink boxers, with prancing unicorns on them. His hair appeared as if he had stuck his finger in a light socket, but that was not Lily's doing.

Peter's hair was dyed neon yellow and he was wearing a pale blue tutu.

Sirius was the worst, and upon seeing him the girls burst out into uncontrollable laughter. But it didn't wake them. Sirius was bald, with purple feety pajamas on and bunny ears. In his mouth was a binky.

But that wasn't all.

"Three, two, one…." Lily muttered under her breath.

With a swish of her wand, all three sleeping beauties were sprayed with water, the chunks of ice and the sharp cold waking them all with a scream.

"What's going on??" Remus spluttered in a bleary voice.

Lily, Melody, Amberly, and Becca just cackled, rolling on the floor laughing their heads off.

"You just got toasted, Marauders!" Lily crowed.

"Schooled!" Amberly agreed.

The boys all stared at her with incredulous looks on their faces. They had just been beat at their own game.

Joining James in the Great Hall, they all dug in eagerly. Sirius and James were experiencing a bit of a hangover, which Lily cured with a potion summoned from her dorm. Sirius was complaining, though he kept his voice to a low grumble. He had a rep to protect.

"I don't see why you had to wake us up like that. You could've just told us to get up!"

"I did." Lily replied coolly, spreading butter on her toast.

Sirius kept muttering incoherently. Lily's grin stretched wide across her face. Considering the traumatizing events of last night, James thought she would be upset, but he was thankful she was handling it so well. He hated to see her unhappy.

On the inside, Lily was in fact scared silly. The Death Eaters had just ATTACKED them. But the relief overpowered all other feelings. They were _alive._

Slowly everyone trickled in, regretfully leaving the weekend behind them. Dumbledore stood to address the room.

"Attention students! As a few of you know, there was an attack on Hogsmede last night."

A few frantic murmurs broke the silence.

"Now now! Don't fret. Luckily no one was hurt due to the quick action of eight Witches and Wizards: Arthur and Molly Weasley, Alastor Moody, three wizards and one witch who's names are unknown"-he eyed James, Lily, Remus, and Sirius in turn, slowly, making them all terribly nervous-"and our own Rubeus Hagrid!"

The hall exploded in cheers, Hagrid grinned ear to ear. The four were slow to respond, all shocked that Dumbledore seemed to know that it was they who had been in disguise at the Acidic Cauldron.

"I bid you all a good day, and to James Potter, Lily Evans, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew, Melody Chang, Becca Reynolds, and Amberly Meadowes, I would like you to all report to my office at 5 o'clock, if you will. Thank you for your attention.

They all glanced at each other worriedly, and the stares from all the other students caused them to leave.

Outside, away from the prying eyes and listening ears, the eight friends could finally talk.

"He knows. How does he know?"

"I don't know! No one was around when we left…."

While the girls panicked, Amberly on the brink of a nervous breakdown, Remus was deep in thought. But even the most intelligent of the Marauders had no idea how this could be.

Taking a deep breath, James spoke. "Maybe we should just go to class…."

They all nodded solemnly, and shuffled off to their class, Transfiguration, with the Hufflepuff's.

"Jamie!" Abby squealed when they walked in. "Baby I didn't see you at all yesterday! I missed you! I got out of the Hospital Wing and couldn't find you!" she crooned in a sappy, lovey-dovey voice, slightly tainted with the hurt and rejection she felt. He basically just left her in the Hospital Wing and didn't return. Not the best thing to do to your girlfriend.

James blinked, confused. Oh ya! He suddenly recalled, his girlfriend, Abby. It felt like yesterday had lasted a century, he dimly recalled when Lily had attacked Abby, and the events that followed.

James chose his words carefully. It was bad enough he had used this girl, he didn't want to hurt her more than necessary.

"Abby, I'm sorry, but we can't be together."

Confusion, pain, hurt, shock, anger. They all flashed across her face, finally settling on outrage. Her gray-blue eyes blazed, taking in the guilty look on James's face, as well as the triumphant one on Lily's. Her eyes zeroed in on his arm snaking around Lily's waist.

"You. Cheated. On. Me!!!!!!" she snarled.

James sighed. At least she wasn't crying. "Yes. I'm sorry. But I love Lily."-he gazed into Lily's emerald eyes-"Always have, always will."

"Ugh!" Abby glared at them both, stomping her foot. "I _HATE _you James Potter!" she stormed off to her seat with a couple other 6th year Hufflepuff's, who all started grumbling and glaring at James and Lily.

"Glad that's over. She took it rather well." James said in a relieved voice.

"Mmmhmm. Now I don't have to feel guilty about doing _this_."

Lily stood on her tip toes and gave James a sweet peck on the lips, which earned them a hiss from the Hufflepuff's. She pulled away with a smile. "Because you're _mine._ And you always will be. I'm never letting you go."

"As if I would leave." James pulled her into his strong arms, and kissed her passionately, sealing the deal.

Sirius cleared his throat loudly.

"Oh can it, Sirius." James mumbled against Lily's lips. He could kiss her all day, and he might have if Professor McGonagall hadn't walked in just then.

"Potter, Evans!" she barked, "This is a classroom, please contain yourselves."

Lily pulled away, blushing, a deep color that could give her hair a run for it's money. James just grinned.

The day passed in a blur. Lily and James didn't even give a thought to the meeting awaiting them. They were to wrapped up in each other.

But when 6 o'clock drew nearer, their anxiety began to get the best of them.

"Surely if he was going to expel us he would've done it this morning instead of letting us go to all our classes, right?" Lily was pacing anxiously.

"Yes, love. Now please, calm down. It's going to be ok." James soothed her, pulling her down onto his lap in the plush arm chair by the Gryffindor Common Room fireplace, where they were clustered together with their friends.

"Hey, Amber, _relax!_ Your going to draw blood." Sirius nudged his friend, who was practically biting her lip off.

They all were in various states of distress and worry, except for James.

James was completely relaxed. He couldn't see how Dumbledore could be upset with them, despite the fact that they broke quite a few school rules, when they had saved a lot of people and helped in the arrest of some of the most wanted Death Eaters. Seeing how anxious his friends were, James decided it would be best to head over to the Headmaster's office. It was almost 5:30 anyways, and they wouldn't want to risk being deterred by a moving staircase. Even the Marauders Map could not tell when the staircase's would decide to up and leave, bringing them to a place on the other side of the school. (This was a VERY useful excuse for when they were late for class J)

So they all dragged themselves over to the portrait hole, silently wondering if this would be the last time they used it as a student at Hogwarts.

They approached the gargoyle that guarded Professor Dumbledore's office, and Sirius's face lit up. He loved guessing the password.

"_Hmmm_……..ok ok, I got one. He's been trying _muggle candy_ lately. Twizzlers? No? Ok…..Starbursts? Skittles? M&Ms? Milky Way Midnight? Hmmm……maybe he used a regular candy……..trying to throw me off………ok, Chocolate Frogs? Licorice Wands? Drooble's Best Blowing Gum? Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans? Er…"

All of a sudden the staircase started to revolve, and down came Professor Dumbledore, Headmaster.

"Actually, Mr. Black, it was Lemon Drops."

"Awww darn it! That was a trick! Way too easy! Anyone could've guessed that it was your favorite!"

"Ah, you see, that is where the brilliance of it lies, my boy. Nobody would think I would choose something so…..obvious."

Sirius just kept grumbling to himself.

"Now. I believe we had a meeting. Shall we?" He gestured to the staircase. They all climbed on, and it brought them upward at an excruciatingly slow pace.

The double door's opened automatically, and the grand office was revealed to them. The whirring and puffing silvery contraptions sat on their spindly legged tables as usual, the fire crackled merrily, and the portraits of the past Head's were wide awake, eavesdropping without pretending to be asleep or anything. They muttered to each other, things like "in my day….." and "hooligans! Never when I was in charge…." and "kids these days….."

Dumbledore conjured up some extra chairs, all squashy and comfy, floofy things.

"Sit, make yourselves at home! Sirius, would you care for a lemon drop, they really are scrumptious."

"Ew, no! How you can eat _muggle_ things is beyond me."

"Ok, but I _will_ get you to try them one day!" he chuckled merrily, the familiar twinkle in his blue eyes behind his half-moon spectacles.

"Now, down to business. Mr. Black, Mr. Potter, Mr. Lupin, and Miss. Evans. I know the four 'unknown' wizards and witches were you. I know you eight snuck into Hogsmede. What do you have to say for yourselves?" His eyes turned serious as he stared at all their white faces.

James took a deep breath before saying "We're sorry, Professor. We shouldn't of snuck out, especially with the war going on. It was reckless and stupid and we're sorry."

Dumbledore nodded in acceptance of the apology.

"While your performance in Hogsmede was admirable, you broke countless school rules in the process. You all will have a week of detention."

They all nodded dismally. They had been expecting more than this, so they would gladly take it.

"Also. I feel you deserve some credit for your assistance in the arrest of seven of Voldemort's"-everyone but James shuddered at the name-"followers. So 100 points will be awarded to Gryffindor. I'm afraid that's the best reward I can give you. We would not want your identities to become known to Voldemort"-another shudder-"because you four"-he looked pointedly at James, Remus, Sirius, and Lily-"would be sure to be added to his hit list. So, you may leave now, but be sure to report to Professor McGonagall for your detention every night at 7 o'clock for the next week. Good night."

They all rose and walked in a daze to the door, passing Fawkes, Dumbledore's phoenix, on the way out.

They were in absolute shock that they had gotten off with such little punishment, and a _reward_ no less!

Sirius was the first to recover, and he jumped up, pumping his fist in the air, crowing in delight. He hopped onto the banister and slid down ahead of the rest of them, who seemed to finally come to the realization that they weren't expelled. James laughed, and followed Sirius down the railing, pulling Lily behind him. The rest followed suit, shrieking and laughing and having a great time. Sirius reached the end, and with a *humph* he landed on his butt still laughing his head off. That is, until James and Lily landed on top of him, followed by Remus and Amberly and Becca and Melody, and finally Peter. They ended up in a huge dog pile at the bottom of the staircase, with the dog at the bottom.

**Ok, just to clear it up for y'all, Melody is an ancestor of Cho Chang, Amberly is the younger sister of Dorcas Meadowes, the only known member of the original Order of the Phoenix-besides Lily and James-who was personally killed by Voldemort during the first war. Becca is a mudblood. So. Ya. I'm REALLLYY SORRY for not posting for such a long time ****L**** I know, I'm terrible. So sorry. Thanks for not giving up on me though! Please review!!!! It really makes me happy to read your reviews, even if they're mean. It motivates me to write more, so REVIEW!!!! Please and Thank you!!!!!!!!!!!! And I'll TRY to write more soon, but only if you REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ****J**

**Love your author,**

**Brittany/cheesetaco**


	9. Curious

Sirius' ears perked up and he leaped out of bed at the sound of-a puppy. A puppy at Hogwarts? Impossible! But he rushed to his window, and there it was, down in front of Hagrid's hut, a little yelping puppy, a boarhound from the looks of it…he was brown with saggy ears…Sirius' heart just melted. Hagrid seemed to be having a hard time training the little bundle of energy, who was bolting away and sniffing everything in sight.

Sirius turned away from the window and hurriedly put on clothes and stepped into his trainers. Without even brushing his precious HAIR he was down the stairs, past the portrait hole, and through a secret passageway that led straight to the First Floor.

Once outside, Sirius realized Hagrid might find it a little odd that he was up so early…Sirius had to be careful…he just loved puppies so much, though! He'd always been a dog person, even before he became an animagi….

Sirius' reckless nature took over. Who cares?

He skipped on over to the puppy and Hagrid.

"Hey! When did you get a dog?"

"Oh, hullo, didn't see ya' there…got Ol' Fang here just las' night! Ruddy beast won't listen ter me, though." Hagrid glowered in frustration.

"Well well well. Looks like you need some assistance, eh?"

"Since when do ya' offer ter help?" he asked, looking suspicious.

"Erm…well, you see, I just really…umm…like..dogs, and well, you clearly are having problems and I just want to help! What's so wrong with that?"

Hagrid was amused by Sirius' floundering, and burst out laughing.

"Sirius! You can help if you want ter, but yer not gonna get nowhere, the dog just won't listen," he said, while Fang leaped up trying to lick Hagrid.

"Cool! I'm really quite good at dog training. I just know how to…speak their language."

Hagrid's eyes twinkled knowingly. "Mmhmm. Well, right then. On ya' get. You can come by anytime, but today me and Fang here are goin' into the Forest to….well, we got some business ter attend to. Bye, Sirius!"

"Bye!"

Sirius trudged up the hill back to Hogwarts.

"Wow, that was weird" he mumbled to himself. "_I_ was weird. No wonder Hagrid was suspicious." Sirius shook off the feeling of do-gooder and started thinking up more ideas for the Beginning Of Year Prank they'd been putting off.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Yawning, Sirius entered the Great Hall, grabbing a seat next to the Lily.

"Morning!" he exclaimed in a bright voice.

Lily just stared, her mouth literally dropping open, revealing a half chewed mouthful of toast.

"Now, now. Lily! Where are you're manners? Chew with your mouth CLOSED."

Lily's mouth snapped shut, but her eyes still ogled.

"WHAT are you doing?"

"Umm….eating?" Sirius replied in a voice that suggested that Lily wasn't 'all there'.

"I MEAN what are you doing AWAKE?! You're NEVER awake this early!"

"Well….." he said hesitantly. Sirius was NEVER hesitant.

"Ok. SPILL!"

"Well….you know about our…I mean, the Marauders, 'special abilities'?"

Lily leaned in closer. "Yeahhh…What about them?"

"Hagrid got a puppy! He's gonna let me train him!"

"Ohhhhkayyy…..so?"

"I just LOVE puppies! They're soooo cute! Don't tell the others, though. James will just make fun of me."

"Whatever. You're acting pretty strange, Siri."

"Don't. Call. Me. SIRI!" he exclaimed in an annoyed voice.

Lily laughed. "THAT'S more like it. But what about your hair? It's a mess!"

Sirius' eyes widened. HIS HAIR! He jumped up, a wild look in his eyes as he clamped his hands over his hair and dashed all the way to the Gryffindor boys' dorm, earning many stares, whispers, and giggles. He didn't come out again until his hair was properly washed, dried, combed, fluffed, gelled and sprayed, and arranged just so. So by then it had been an hour and the other's were rising to get ready for another day of classes.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The third class of the day was Defense Against the Dark Arts, with the Ravenclaws and Professor Hazenfefer. They were beginning to learn about something that haunted their nightmares and the newspapers…the Unforgivable Curses.

"It is necessary for you all to know about the three Unforgivable Curses, how you can recognize their effects on yourself and others. These are dark times we live in, these curses are becoming as common as "wingardium leviosa" or "stupefy"! Someone you know could right this second be under the influence of the imperius curse, the curse in which the person it is cast upon is willed to do the casters will, and happily does it due to the light, floating, calm, trance-like effect given to the receiver of the curse. It is very dangerous as it allows spies to walk among us unnoticed. However, if left unchecked the curse can start to wear off, leaving a dazed, glazed-eye look of the victim.

The second curse is the cruciatus curse, which tortures the victim physically. He pain is said to be unbearable, which may also cause a victim to turn spy.

The third, and in my opinion the worst of all, is the killing curse. When the incantation is spoken, there is a flash of green light, and the victim drops dead, right on the spot. The end.

It is important……" Professor Hazenfefer droned on and on, and even Lily tuned him out….

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"FINALLY! This day just took FOREVER!" Becca collapsed on a sofa in the Head's dormitory.

Lily leaned over her upside-down.

"Sorry to break it to ya, Becca, darling, but the day's not over!"

"What do you mean?"

"Detention. 7 o'clock. REMEMBER?"

Everyone groaned in unison. Apparently, they'd forgotten too.

"I don't wanna go!!!" Sirius whined. "I've wasted like half my life there!"

"Well then, stop getting in trouble." Lily stated matter-of-factly.

Sirius looked at her with a shocked expression.

"Excuse me? You say that like it's POSSIBLE."

Lily just rolled her eyes, and the next thing she knew, 7 o'clock had rolled around.

The eight of them reported to McGonagall's office.

"You know, this is really getting old." Professor McGonagall complained warily.

"Come now, Minnie! You know you love spending time with your favorite student!"

"Surely you don't mean yourself, Mr. Black?"

Sirius' eyes widened, his face portraying a look of hurt, betrayal. He mimed a sword stabbing him through his heart, and staggered around, gasping for air.

"Minnie….that….hurt!….The light! Oh, what a pretty light…." he adopted an obsessed and dazed look while he stared into space at the "light".

"Don't go into the light!!!" James exclaimed dramatically.

'Minnie' let out an exasperated sigh. "Please, Mr. Black, control yourself or you can look forward to spending many more nights with me."

Sirius dropped the act and looked at Professor McGonagall teasingly. "You say that like it's a BAD thing!"

"Ugh! ! LEAVE! NOW! YOU'RE TO SERVE YOUR DETENTION WITH FILCH! GO!"

Grumbling, Sirius headed off to his assigned place, while the others were given theirs and trudged off accordingly.

Lily, Peter, and Remus were paired together. They had to help Hagrid in-where else?-the Forbidden Forest.

"Hey you lot. Ready? The Forest's in a frenzy. The Centaurs are all worked up- Somethin' 'bout students 'disturbin' the peace'. Rubbish. But we gotta settle it or they'll turn on us-don't want that! Dumbledore's arranged a sorta peace meeting, and we needed some students as representatives. So here we are. Let's go."

He whistled for Fang, who came bounding out of the hut.

"He's coming? Sirius told me about him-he's adorable!" Lily ooh-ed and ahh-ed over the pint-sized pup.

"Yeah. Sirius offered ter help with his training. Odd, but nice of him, eh?"

"Mmhmm…"

They filed into the Forest, Fang snapping at Peter's heels.

They arrived in a clearing, where ten Centaurs were gathered.

"'Lo, Luca." Hagrid nodded to the Centaur at the head of the group.

"Good Evening, Hagrid. Meet my son, Firenze. He will be observing the meeting today, as he will one day take over my roll as Head of the Centaur-Human interaction Board."

Hagrid waved to the little Centaur with his sea-blue eyes and blond hair.

"Nice ter meet ya, Firenze."

"You, too." He replied meekly. His sparkling eyes raked over the students interestedly.

_This must be the first time he's ever seen a human_, Lily thought.

"Well. Let's get started." Luca said, all business now.

"Right. What are your complaints, Luca?"

"Students have been coming into this Forest quite regularly, wrecking havoc on the inhabitants. I was under the impression that this Forest was Forbidden?"

"Right you are, Luca. Students certainly aren't authorized in this Forest, unless that is, they are with me, such as the case is now."

Luca nodded. "Well then we are on the same page. Put a stop to these meetings-"

"Meetings? They come here, for _meetings_?? What kind of meetings, exactly? Have you ever overheard them, by chance?"

"Yes. They appear to be some kind of anti-group, always plotting and planning things….We're not sure what. Every time we try listening for too long, a buzzing sound fills our ears and we can't hear anything at all."

"Interesting. Well, Luca, rest assured we will look into this and put a stop to it."

"Very well. Good night, Hagrid, students."

They all nodded to him, and the Centaurs retreated, Firenze hesitating, his eyes boring into Lily's curiously, until his Father called him.

"Goodnight, everyone." he whispered.

"Goodnight, Firenze," they chorused.

And then they, too, retreated.

**Sorry for the long wait! I kinda lost interest in the fanfics for awhile, but I'm back on it. There'll be another post up soon, I'm already writing it! Sorry this chapter was a bit random and confusing, but all these little things will add up in the long run! (You'll be seeing more of little Firenze soon! =D)Thanks to everyone who didn't give up on me! Love you all! PLEASE, everyone review! It really encourages me to write more! Constructive criticism and any other comments are welcome! **

**Thanks a billion! **

**Love, **

**Bee =D**


	10. Plans

**OMG my story's in DOUBLE DIGITS!!! I feel like I should be eating a cake or something! *grins* For awhile there I thought I was just going to give up on BAWW all together, and look at me now! Two chapters in two days! YAYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!! =D **

"I don't like the sounds of this anti-group…" Lily said nervously as the three darted back up to the school in under the pitch black sky.

"Me either, Lils…You think it's something Voldemort-related?" Remus asked worriedly.

"I hope not…"

Peter just looked away, staying quiet.

"I think we should tell the others. C'mon."

The three hurried up to the Heads dorm, Peter rather reluctantly.

They piled onto the couch, waiting anxiously for the others to return from their detentions.

James, Amberly, and Becca came in, nursing various cuts and welts.

"Ugh! I never want to see another Blast Ended Skrewt! Where did Professor Kettleburn GET those little monsters?!" Becca complained.

"I know, right?! Not even HAGRID could love those things!" Amberly added.

"Actually, I think he bred them…" James quipped.

"Figures."

That's when James noticed the worried look on Lily's face.

"Lily?! Lily, love, are you ok?!" James rushed to her side.

"Yeah. Fine. But we learned something tonight…."

She filled him in on their detention as representatives to the Centaur/Human Interactions Board. (Great choice as reps, huh? Criminals! Way to represent the school!)

"So. Now we think there might be Death Eaters-or at least some Death-Eaters-To-Be-in this school. Slytherins being stupid, more than likely. But I think we need to look into it. _Marauder Style."_

James perked up at that. Just what he needed!

"Alright then. We'll have a stakeout!"

"Awesome!"

"Yeah! That's what I'm talking about!"

"Marauder Style? What's Marauder Style?" Becca asked.

"Err…"

Darn. Melody, Amberly, and Becca had yet to find out the truth about the Marauders. Now was certainly not a good time for them to hear it all…but the Marauders Map would be ok to share…

"Marauder Conference!" Sirius called, and the four clustered together and cast a muffling spell around them so nobody could hear them (muffliato).

"Ah-hem! I believe _I_ deserve to be in this meeting!" Lily said with raised eyebrows.

"She _does_ know pretty much everything. She's like an Honorary Marauder, Prongs."

James thought about it for a millisecond, then nodded. He included her in the spell.

"Ok. To tell or not to tell?"

"I vote tell. At least about the Marauders Map. It'll make everything a lot easier. We could use their help." Remus said.

"Ditto." Sirius said.

"Ok…."Peter shrugged.

"I'm fine with it. Lily?"

"Yep. Let's go before Becca flips out."

Becca looked pissed. She was about to blow a fuse.

"SO???" She exclaimed when the buzzing left her ears. "Are you going to tell us or not?" She asked crossly. She hated being out of the loop.

"Yeah. Here it is. The secret to our success"-_one of them, anyways, _he added mentally-"is this map!" He pulled out the Marauders Map with a flourish.

"It's just a piece of parchment," Melody pointed out, disappointed.

"Is it, now?" Sirius pulled out his wand, tapping it on the parchment. "I Solemnly Swear That I Am Up To No Good."

Ink spread over the Map, revealing it's wonders. The girls gasped.

"Um. WOW!"

"It's the whole school! How did you guys make this?"

"Secret. The important thing is that this shows us all the inhabitants of Hogwarts, where they are-"

"What they're doing-"

"Every minute-"

"Of every day!" The Marauders grinned at the three bewildered girls.

"Ooookay….so this will help us find out what those meeting are about?"

"Yep. We'll watch the map every night, and if we see anybody going into the Forest, we follow them." James said with a shrug of his shoulders.

"But James, Luca said that a buzzing filled their ears when they tried to listen…" Lily objected.

"Well then we'll join them! Incognito." He said with a wink in Lily's direction.

"I don't know….if they ARE Death Eaters, that could be really dangerous…."

"C'mon, Lily. Do you want to do this or not?"

"OK…I guess count me in." She sighed.

"Oooh!! We need a plan name!" Sirius said excitedly.

"I wanna pick it!" James cried. "Okay….Plan GITSOTPDEITFFAHCTRHATTTIAMGOTHFDBOI !!!!!!!!"

"James? Are you serious?" Sirius rolled his eyes.

"Am _I_ Sirius? No, silly, YOU are!!!"

"Haha, James, that one NEVER gets old!" James just stuck his tongue out childishly.

"_ANYWAYS, _it's Plan GITSOTPDEITFFAHCTRHATTTIAMGOTHFDBOI and we're not going to change it now! It's already decided."

"Erm…ok…but what does it exactly stand for or are those just a random really long string of letters?" Amberly wondered.

"It stands for Go-Incognito-To-Spy-On-The-Potential-Death-Eaters-In-The-Forbidden-Forest-And-Hopefully-Catch-Them-Red-Handed-And-Then-Turn-Them-In-And-Maybe-Get-Off-The-Hook-For-Detention-Because-Of-It!!!! Or, more simply, Plan GITSOTPDEITFFAHCTRHATTTIAMGOTHFDBOI."

Sirius sniggered. "Better than his _last _plan, it was wayyyy longer! 35 letters!"

Lily laughed. "And what plan was that, exactly?"

"Ah, you don't need to know that. Privileged information." He said, blushing and putting his hand over Sirius' mouth.

Sirius squirmed and fought against James, then with one of his rare bursts of genius, he liked James' hand, a really wet, slobbery lick!

"EWWWWW!!!! PADFOOT!!!!" James screamed, wiping his hand on his pants.

Lily wouldn't give him a break. She wanted to know what the plan was. She didn't care that her friends were around.

"So….James…." She said seductively, trailing her hands down his chest. "Don't you think…." she played with his hair "I should be _privileged _with that information?" She then proceeded to plant delicate, tantalizing little kisses on his neck.

James meanwhile was falling for it. Lily was simply hypnotic. All there friends watched, James Potter, Famous Marauder, getting tricked by a girl. Then again, it _was_ Lily Evans, and if anyone could get the better of James Potter, I was her, the girl he had been infatuated with since, well, _forever!_

"I think…." James was panting "..that you deserve anything you want, Lily, love. What was it that you wanted to know again?"

Lily giggled, her hands tracing James lips gently. She had him under her spell.

"What was the name of your last plan?"

"GLTGOWMBTEOTSYAHMMBSITLOMLAIHBSDKIY." His eyes took in her face, her lips, her eyes.

"And what did it stand for?" She asked, leaning unbearably close to him, her lips only an inch from his own.

"Get-Lily-To-Go-Out-With-Me-Before-The-End-Of-The-School-Year-And-Hopefully-Marry-Me-Because-She-Is-The-Love-Of-My-Life-And-I'm-Hers-But-She-Doesn't-Know-It-Yet." He said without hesitation.

"Oh, James." Lily breathed, filling the space between them and capturing his lips with her own.

He kissed her back, passionately. The atmosphere in the room intensified, their friends sensing that it was an extremely private moment and they dispersed quietly, even Sirius, surprisingly.

"James…" Lily's breathing's heavy but she has to tell him, "James. I know, now. I know you're the love of my life. That's not going to change." She resumes her assault on his lips, and she feels him smile against her own. She shared in his happiness. They loved each other. They were always going to be together. This was completely clear in this one moment, a moment neither of them intended to end anytime soon.

**Here it is! Another chapter! Aren't you just so proud of me?! =D And I'm already starting the next one! I'm on a roll! Please please review and tell me if you like my story so far! I love your reviews! Thanks so much to SkyePuppy25, Maeve Hale, Liliv, and Rosebud6101 for the story/author alerts! And thanks so much to my bff Sirius'Sweetheart and also Only You Would Know, who reviewed my last chapter! Love y'all! Everyone pretty please review!!!!! even if it's only like two words or if it's really mean I love to get them!!! =D **

**Love, **

**Bee**

**(Ok, this is bothering me....Only You Would Know, is that a penname? lol I thought it was Brittney being silly but she said it wasn't her and now it's driving me crazy cuz idk if that's just a penname or if it's some person who I should know lol)**


	11. ANSorry :

Hey guys. I'm sorry to say, the story is…well, it's over. ): I'm so sorry! I'm such a failure and ya'll know it! BUTTTTTTTTT here's the good news---I'm writing another story. One that has a plan and lots of exciting drama. It's called Winter Storms. It has some of the main ideas that were in this story, like the Gryffindor girl Winter, b/c I never got to tell her story! And it's a good one, believe me! (: It's Lily/James of course, Sirius/OC and Remus/OC. The characters are different from this story, b/c I wanted to incorporate some actual characters, like Marlene McKinnon and Andromeda Black! I've got a plan for this story, it's gonna go somewhere, and it's gonna be good. So read it! It'll keep you on the edge right off the bat! ;)

Once again, SORRY. I think I just might come back and finish this story one day, but for now, I don't know where to go with it, so I spent my time on Winter Storms, brewing up a real good one for you guys! So I really hope you all read it, and like it, and best of all, REVIEW it!!! I'm so sorry about Black and White Wishes, but when I started it, I wasn't really ready for it. I didn't know how HARD it is and how much time has to be put into it, you know? So yeah. Black and White Wishes is over, for now, at least. It might be years, but I WILL finish it one day. In the meantime, check out Winter Storms!!! (:

Thanks for everything guys!

I love you!

xoxo

B


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